The World's Best Brands

Coke Tops The Interbrand List, But Some Brands Are Not Measured

Sep 29, 2008

Despite economic troubles, the USA hosts eight of the world's 10 highest-ranked brands. The IBM brand is second and Microsoft's is third. Google is fastest growing brand.

The Coca-Cola brand is worth $66.7 billion, more than any other, according to the annual rankings published by Business Week Magazine (BW) and Interbrand, an international brand consultancy company.

Business Week says the rankings are based on a complex set of criteria which, among other things, requires a brand to "derive at least a third of its earnings outside its home country, be recognizable beyond its base of customers, and have publicly available marketing and financial data."

The criteria exclude numerous company brands from consideration, including those of airlines, pharmaceutical companies and privately held firms. Wal-Mart, Proctor & Gamble and Mars are among the excluded brands, BW said.

Although it showed only a 2% increase in value in the most recent year, Coca-Cola retained the top brand ranking for the eighth straight year, "proving it still has a few tricks up its sleeve," Interbrand said in announcing the 2008 list.

Innovative Online Advertising

Coke was cited for keeping up with current trends toward healthier drinks such as Diet Coke Plus and Coke Zero and for "engaging" consumers with innovative online advertising campaigns.

The IBM brand moved past Microsoft into second place in the rankings, increasing its estimated value 3% to $59.031 billion. Interbrand attributed IBM’s success to its continued transformation from a PC vendor to a "solutions provider" for international businesses.

The Microsoft brand slipped into third place, increasing its value only 1%, to $59.007 billion following what Interbrand called ‘a slightly rocky year" punctuated by the problems with Vista, its unsuccessful attempt to purchase Yahoo and the retirement of Bill Gates.

GE Ecomagination Program

The GE brand increased 3% in value to $53.1 billion to rank fourth. Interbrand said GE’s Ecomagination program "has been incredibly successfully in raising sustainability awareness" and the company "has a unique opportunity to shape the way that businesses all over the world approach sustainability."

Finland’s Nokia brand jumped 7%, finishing fifth with an estimated value of $35.9 billion. In its release, Interbrand noted that Nokia recently launched its E61 to compete with the Blackberry and that its "Nokia Tube" will compete directly with Apple’s iPhone.

Prius Green Halo Effect

Japan’s Toyota was the only other non-USA brand in the top 10, ranking sixth with an estimated value of $34 billion. Interbrand said Toyota increased its brand value 6%, thanks heavily to the Prius "green halo effect."

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