World's Top Brands Led By Apple, IBM, Google

You may or may not have heard of Millward Brown, but you might not be surprised who they ranked as the world’s top brand: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) took the pole position in 2012.  Millward Brown’s 2012 BrandZ Top 100.  The study took into consideration the following: Value, Renewal, Relevance, Reputation, Reimagine, Brand Contribution, Personality, Harder BRICs, Disruption, Technology, Digital, Health & Wellness, and Entitlement

Of the top brands, the following came in after Apple:

2. International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM)

3. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)

4. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD)

5. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)

6. Coca-Cola Corporation (NYSE: KO)

7. Marlboro of Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO)

8. AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T)

9. Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE: VZ)

10. China Mobile Limited (NYSE: CHL)

11. General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE)

The ‘Top Riser” from 2011 to 2012 was Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) with a 74% rise

The full Millward Brown study on these brands gets broken down into segments such as industry, brand growth, geographic, and sectors.

JON C. OGG