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Every year, leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance puts 5,000 of the biggest brands in the world to the test, and publishes nearly 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries. The world’s top 500 most valuable and strongest brands have just been released from London, UK.
Apple holds on to top spot with record valuation
Apple has retained the title of the world’s most valuable brand following a 35% increase to $ 355.1 billion – the highest brand value ever recorded in the Brand Finance Global 500 ranking.
Apple had a stellar 2021, highlighted by its achievement at the start of 2022 – being the first company to reach a $ 3 trillion market valuation. The tech giant’s success historically lied in honing its core brand positioning, but it’s more recent growth can be attributed to the company’s recognition that its brand can be applied effectively to a much broader range of services.
The iPhone still accounts for around half of the brand’s sales. However, this year saw Apple give more attention to its other suite of products with a new generation of iPads, an overhaul to the iMac, and introduction of AirTags. Its range of services, from Apple Pay to Apple TV, has also gone from strength to strength and become of increasing importance to the brand’s success.
In the Global 500 the technology sector remains the most valuable industry, while retail comes in second-ranked. In comparison for Sri Lanka, banking is the most valuable with technology (driven by the telecommunications sector) and food and beverage come in joint second. Technology though is growing faster and should take a firm second position in 2022.
Breaking the results down to country level, brands from the United States and China continue to dominate the Brand Finance Global 500. Over two-thirds of the total brand value in the ranking is attributable to the two countries, with the US accounting for 49% and China for 19%.
The rise of media brands
With COVID-19 restrictions in effect across the globe throughout 2021, digital entertainment, social media, and streaming services saw significant growth, and TikTok’s rise is testament to how media consumption is changing. With its offering of easily digestible and entertaining content, the app’s popularity spread across the globe, however, it also acted as a creative outlet and provided a way for people to connect during lockdown.
Media consumption has increased throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but – what is more – the way we consume it has irrevocably changed. In order to compete in this evolving marketplace, media organisations have invested heavily in their brands – from content acquisition through to user experience. TikTok’s meteoric growth is the proof in the pudding – the brand has gone from relative obscurity to internationally renowned in just a few years and shows no signs of slowing down.
Overall, media brands account for the top three fastest-growing brands in the ranking – with another social media app Snapchat and South Korean internet brand Kakao following closely behind TikTok.
Other notable performers from the media sector include those that offer streaming services, with Disney, Netflix, YouTube and Spotify all seeing increases.
Await Sri Lanka’s most valuable 100 brands
Similar to the Global 500 tech trend, Sri Lanka’s premier technology brand Dialog continued to hold on to its position of the most valuable. The question however is whether Dialog will be able to retain its position in 2022 or whether traditional banks which are the closest rivals to Dialog will be able to make a move to regain leadership. Sri Lanka’s most valuable brands will be released by Brand Finance Lanka in April 2022.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy, with offices in over 20 countries including Sri Lanka, where it has been operating since 2004. The Sri Lanka team now consists of 15 consultants and analysts. Brand Finance’s area of focus is to bridge the gap between marketing and finance.
