Apple is on a roll. Not content with becoming the biggest tech company in the world, the company has also ended Google’s four year reign as the world’s most valuable brand, according to a new study of global branding. And that’s not the only upset at the top of the chart.
Apple rose a stunning 84% in value globally to take the top spot from Google in Millward Brown’s 2011 BrandZ study, but it was no means the fastest riser – Facebook’s brand grew 246% in value over the last year, and even Wells Fargo took a larger jump, with a 97% gain. Amazon, too, has edged out Walmart to become the world’s most valuable retail brand after several years, according to the survey, and while Apple is now the world’s most valuable brand, U.S. brands in general dominate the top 100 less than they did last year, with newcomers from Brazil, China, India and Russia displacing many American favorites.
Millward Brown’s calculations go beyond simple revenue or tangible assets (In fact, they subtract tangible assets from market value), and use brand-equity tracking and financial data about the companies. Of the top 10 companies on the list, only two have failed to grow in value since last year: Google (#2 on the list, and down 2% in value in 2011) and AT&T.
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