The BusinessWeek/Interbrand Annual Ranking

Leading global brand consultancy, Interbrand, has again teamed up with BusinessWeek to publish their annual ranking of the Best Global Brands by brand value. Now in its sixth year, the Best Global Brands report identifies the top 100 global brands that have managed to create and sustain strong performance in today's competitive market.

"In the majority of cases, those who made the ranking are proactively managing their businesses through a brand lens. They have recognized that their brand should be the central organizing principle given the incredible value they represent," said Jez Frampton, CEO of Interbrand. "The need to measure and manage brand performance continues to be a critical priority for senior management as evidenced by the incredible interest shown in this ranking."

Brand values were determined using the method Interbrand pioneered nearly 20 years ago and has since used to value more than 4,000 brands. Brand value is calculated as the net present value of the earnings the brand is expected to generate and secure in the future for the time frame from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006. To be considered the brands must have a minimum brand value of US$2.7 billion, achieve about one third of their earnings outside of their home country, have publicly available marketing and financial data, and have a wider public profile beyond their direct customer base.

The ranking has produced many insights this year, chief among them, the turnaround performance of certain brands and some dramatic declines. "The results from this year's ranking clearly demonstrate if brand owners do no positively and proactively manage their brand, the market will do it for them, leaving them in a vulnerable situation", said Jeff Swystun, "Those who have turned around their performance or generally climbed in the ranking have employed specific strategies to leverage and grow the value of their brands."

2006 Best Global Brands Highlights

Turnaround Performances
After year over year decline from 2000 to 2004, Nokia (#6) has regained its leadership position in the mobile telecom industry with growth in both the high and low ends of the market. Nokia's scale has always made it competitive in the rapidly growing low priced segment, but a resurgence in design and a concentration on desirable features has meant that Nokia is now able to maintain its average selling price and reinvigorate its brand image with the high end consumer.

Likewise, Motorola (#69) has historically struggled in the high end of the market…until the Razr. A hero product, it has in recent years helped the brand maintain its solid number two position in the category.

Top Gainers
The top gainer with a brand value increase of 46%, Google (#24) creates growth under with the strategy of "do no evil" positioning itself at the opposite end of the spectrum from the more corporate Microsoft. Overall growth of Internet commerce has perpetuated consumers' acceptance of purchasing goods and services online enabling eBay (#47) to skyrocket in value up 18% and the third highest gainer this year.

In the second spot with a value increase of 20%, Starbucks (#91) has found financial success by leveraging the brand with a premium fast food and extending its product offering into music and publishing.

Top Decliners
The growth of mass retailers has taken market share from traditional apparel brands such as Gap (#52). Losing the most brand value with a decline of -22%, Gap has been unable to clarify its brand image and with a less distinct positioning the brand has been less effective at selling clothing causing reduced long-term stability.

Ford (#30) continues to lose money on every car sold – and brand value year after year. Down -16% this year, Ford’s American heritage is an insufficient brand attribute to hold off growing competition from Japanese and German automakers.

Down -12% this year, Kodak (#70) has made valiant strides to catch up with the digital world, however the reality is that competition is fierce and profitability is thin compared to Kodak's film business and thus the brand's value continues to decline.

Read the complete report and additional analysis on global branding online at www.interbrand.com or www.businessweek.com.

Most Popular Now

Stepping Hill Hospital Announced as SPAR…

Stepping Hill Hospital, part of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, has replaced its bedside units with state-of-the art devices running a full range of information, engagement, communications and productivity apps, to...

DMEA 2025: Digital Health Worldwide in B…

8 - 10 April 2025, Berlin, Germany. From the AI Act, to the potential of the European Health Data Space, to the power of patient data in Scandinavia - DMEA 2025...

Is AI in Medicine Playing Fair?

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly integrates into health care, a new study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reveals that all generative AI models may...

Generative AI's Diagnostic Capabili…

The use of generative AI for diagnostics has attracted attention in the medical field and many research papers have been published on this topic. However, because the evaluation criteria were...

New System for the Early Detection of Au…

A team from the Human-Tech Institute-Universitat Politècnica de València has developed a new system for the early detection of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using virtual reality and artificial intelligence. The...

Diagnoses and Treatment Recommendations …

A new study led by Prof. Dan Zeltzer, a digital health expert from the Berglas School of Economics at Tel Aviv University, compared the quality of diagnostic and treatment recommendations...

AI Tool can Track Effectiveness of Multi…

A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can help interpret and assess how well treatments are working for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been developed by UCL researchers. AI uses...

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust g…

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust has marked an important milestone in connecting busy radiologists across large parts of South East England, following the successful go live of Sectra's enterprise...

DMEA 2025 Ends with Record Attendance an…

8 - 10 April 2025, Berlin, Germany. DMEA 2025 came to a successful close with record attendance and an impressive program. 20,500 participants attended Europe's leading digital health event over the...

Dr Jason Broch Joins the Highland Market…

The Highland Marketing advisory board has welcomed a new member - Dr Jason Broch, a GP and director with a strong track record in the NHS and IT-enabled transformation. Dr Broch...

AI-Driven Smart Devices to Transform Hea…

AI-powered, internet-connected medical devices have the potential to revolutionise healthcare by enabling early disease detection, real-time patient monitoring, and personalised treatments, a new study suggests. They are already saving lives...

Multi-Resistance in Bacteria Predicted b…

An AI model trained on large amounts of genetic data can predict whether bacteria will become antibiotic-resistant. The new study shows that antibiotic resistance is more easily transmitted between genetically...