There are a number of ways to rank brand values. One of the most important is the level at which a brand contributes to the market value of a public company.

24/7 Wall St. asked Corebrand, the brand research and consulting firm, to look at the top 100 brands based their contribution to market capitalizaton. Using this method, the hardest working brand was Hershey (NYSE:HSY), followed  by Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG)

Corebrand described the process briefly to 24/7 Wall. St.

24/7 Wall St.: Corebard often refers to the brands on this list as the”hardest working brands”. How did you come to that description?

Corebrand: There are a lot of people measuring and examining the “strongest brands” or the “most valuable brands”.  Our opinion is that examining one without the other is somewhat meaningless.  How “strong” a brand is nice to know but not very relevant unless you understand how that strength benefits business.  Similarly, “value” is little more than a measure of corporate size unless you understand the drivers of that value and how to influence it. By examining the strength of the brand and it’s contribution to total market value, we can help companies and their leadership manage that strength and value over time.

24/7 Wall St.: Is there any advantage or disadvantage to having a brand value be a very large percentage of market cap in the present and as an indication of a company’s future performance?

Corebrand: The brand will need to be in balance with the rest of the company’s assets.  A company should strive to have it’s brand strong enough to fend off competitors or changing market conditions but not so strong that it becomes overly dependent on the brand as a single driver of value.  If a company can achieve and maintain its appropriate maximum strength without becoming over-dependent, it will see greater returns in bull markets and retain greater value in bear markets.

The list:

Company	Brand Equity % Market Cap Rank	Brand Equity $ Value Rank	Ticker Symbol	Industry
Hershey Company	1	95	HSY	Food
Coca-Cola Company	2	9	KO	Beverages
Harley-Davidson	3	109	HOG	Hotel & Entertainment
Campbell Soup	4	86	CPB	Food
Kellogg Company	5	65	K	Food
Colgate-Palmolive Company	6	32	CL	Toiletries, Household Products
FedEx Corporation	7	49	FDX	Transportation
Barnes & Noble	8	206	BKS	Retailers
American Express Company	9	29	AXP	Diversified Financial
Starbucks Corporation	10	72	SBUX	Restaurants
UPS	11	26	UPS	Transportation
Mattel	12	106	MAT	Hotel & Entertainment
Johnson & Johnson	13	4	JNJ	Medical Supplies, Services
Del Monte Foods Company	14	169	DLM	Food
Wendy’s Arby’s Group	15	170	WEN	Restaurants
Black & Decker	16	155	BDK	Industrial Equipment
General Mills	17	61	GIS	Food
Walt Disney Company	18	27	DIS	Hotel & Entertainment
Estée Lauder Companies	19	103	EL	Toiletries, Household Products
Bed Bad & Beyond	20	97	BBBY	Retailers
McDonald’s Corporation	21	25	MCD	Restaurants
Sony Corporation	22	46	SNE	Electronics, Electrical Equip.
Honda Motor Company	23	28	HMC	Motor Vehicles
Eastman Kodak Company	24	211	EK	Precision Instruments
Lowe’s Companies	25	43	LOW	Retailers
Target Corporation	26	35	TGT	Retailers
IBM Corporation	27	7	IBM	Computers & Peripherals
Xerox Corporation	28	114	XRX	Office Equipment
Gap, The	29	78	GPS	Retailers
Nike	30	45	NKE	Apparel, Shoes
La-Z Boy	31	265	LZB	Furniture, Home Furnishings
American Greetings Corporation	32	225	AM	Packaging
PepsiCo	33	17	PEP	Beverages
Toyota Motor Corporation	34	12	TM	Motor Vehicles
New York Times	35	210	NYT	Publishing
General Electric Company	36	5	GE	Diversified Industrials
Whirlpool Corporation	37	127	WHR	Industrial Equipment
Liz Claiborne	38	245	LIZ	Apparel, Shoes
Home Depot	39	30	HD	Retailers
Yahoo!	40	57	YHOO	Internet
Sara Lee Corporation	41	111	SLE	Food
Wal-Mart Stores	42	3	WMT	Retailers
Avon Products	43	85	AVP	Toiletries, Household Products
Marriott	44	100	MAR	Hotel & Entertainment
Charles Schwab	45	67	SCHW	Brokerage
Polo Ralph Lauren	46	112	RL	Apparel, Shoes
Microsoft Corporation	47	2	MSFT	Computer Software
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company	48	143	GT	Auto Parts
J. C. Penney Company	49	105	JCP	Retailers
Ford Motor	50	64	F	Motor Vehicles
Nissan Motor	51	48	NSANY	Motor Vehicles
Sherwin-Williams Company	52	113	SHW	Chemicals
Boeing	53	42	BA	Aerospace, Defense
Procter & Gamble Company	54	6	PG	Toiletries, Household Products
Tupperware Corporation	55	164	TUP	Toiletries, Household Products
Kraft Foods	56	39	KFT	Food
H&R Block	57	119	HRB	Diversified Financial
AT&T	58	13	T	Telecommunication Services
Apple	59	8	AAPL	Computers & Peripherals
Motorola	60	73	MOT	Telecommunication Equipment
Kohl’s Corporation	61	74	KSS	Retailers
FujiFilm Holdings	62	90	FUJIY	Electronics, Electrical Equip.
Sunoco	63	152	SUN	Petroleum Refining
Radioshack Corporation	64	187	RSH	Retailers
Verizon Communications	65	23	VZ	Telecommunications Services
Borders Group	66	312	BGP	Retailers
Walgreen Company	67	41	WAG	Pharmacy Services
Dell	68	51	DELL	Computers & Peripherals
DuPont	69	50	DD	Chemicals
Office Depot	70	184	ODP	Office Equipment
Pitney Bowes	71	132	PBI	Office Equipment
Allstate Corporation	72	80	ALL	Insurance
Hormel Foods Corporation	73	137	HRL	Food
Staples	74	82	SPLS	Office Equipment
H. J. Heinz	75	94	HNZ	Food
Exxon Mobil Corporation	76	1	XOM	Petroleum Refining
Honeywell International	77	58	HON	Diversified Industrials
OfficeMax	78	228	OMX	Office Equipment
Loews Corporation	79	88	L	Diversified Industrials
Saks	80	233	SKS	Retailers
CVS Caremark Corporation	81	31	CVS	Pharmacy Services
Rite Aid	82	213	RAD	Pharmacy Services
Canon	83	34	CAJ	Electronics, Electrical Equip.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company	84	36	BMY	Pharmaceuticals
Tyson Foods	85	138	TSN	Food
Morgan Stanley	86	40	MS	Brokerage
Texas Instrument	87	59	TXN	Semiconductors
Google	88	10	GOOG	Internet
eBay	89	53	EBAY	Internet
Capital One Financial	90	87	COF	Diversified Financial
Papa John’s	91	259	PZZA	Restaurants
Tiffany & Company	92	135	TIF	Retailers
Sprint Nextel Corporation	93	107	S	Telecommunication Services
Timberland Company	94	251	TBL	Apparel, Shoes
Chevron Corporation	95	15	CVX	Petroleum Refining
Daimler	96	33	DAI	Motor Vehicles
B. F. Goodrich	97	122	GR	Aerospace, Defense
Aetna	98	104	AET	Medical Supplies, Services
Pep Boys	99	266	PBY	Retailers
Continental Airlines	100	189	CAL	Transportation

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Methodology: CoreBrand tracks 800 of the world’s best corporate brands and maintains the largest continuous brand benchmark tracking system.

Each year, on a rolling basis, CoreBrand conducts 8,000 telephone interviews among business leaders to measure their perceptions of some of the world’s best corporate brands. Respondents are business decision-makers from the top 20% of U.S. businesses.

This senior business audience (VP level and above) represents the investment community, potential business partners, and business customers across 49 key industries. 400 respondents rate each company per year; 800 companies are measured each year. Our reports are updated on a quarterly basis to reflect any subtle changes.

CoreBrand collects financial performance data and communications investment information to understand the support behind and impact of these brands. These corporate brand strength ratings, as well as a company’s financial data are used in CoreBrand’s statistical model to determine the percentage of market capitalization that is directly derived from the corporate brand. Once that percentage is calculated, a dollar value is assigned to the corporate brand.

The percentage of market capitalization, attributable to the corporate brand. The percentage is then translated into a dollar value, based on the current market capitalization. The analysis is examined over time, to determine if the corporate brand is a growing or declining asset.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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