Apple and Google maintain their #1 and #2 positions and each exceed USD $100 billion in brand value; Huawei makes Best Global Brands history as the first Chinese brand to enter the report

NEW YORK — (BUSINESS WIRE) — October 8, 2014 — For the second year in a row, Apple and Google claim the top positions on Interbrand’s Best Global Brands ranking. Valued at USD $118.9 billion, Apple (#1) increased its brand value by 21 percent. Google (#2), valued at $107.43 billion, increased its brand value by 15 percent. For the first time in the history of Best Global Brands two global brands – not just one – have each earned a brand value that exceeds USD $100 billion.

Huawei (#94), the Chinese telecommunications and network equipment provider, also makes Best Global Brands history as the first Chinese company to appear on Interbrand’s ranking. With 65 percent of its revenue coming from outside of China and with its earnings continuing to climb both domestically and across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Huawei is quickly becoming one of the largest telecommunications equipment makers in the world. The company is currently the third largest smartphone manufacturer in the world—just behind Samsung and Apple. The Chinese brand is one of five new entrants to enter the Best Global Brands ranking this year—the others being DHL (#81), Land Rover (#91), FedEx (#92), and Hugo Boss (#97).

“Apple and Google’s meteoric rise to more than USD $100 billion is truly a testament to the power of brand building,” said Jez Frampton, Interbrand’s Global Chief Executive Officer. These leading brands have reached new pinnacles—in terms of both their growth and in the history of Best Global Brands—by creating experiences that are seamless, contextually relevant, and increasingly based around an overarching ecosystem of integrated products and services, both physical and digital.”

Interbrand’s Best Global Brands methodology was the first of its kind to become ISO certified. It analyzes the many ways a brand benefits an organization—from delivering on customer expectations to driving economic value.

When determining the top 100 most valuable brands each year, Interbrand examines three key aspects that contribute to a brand’s value:

• The financial performance of the branded product and service
• The role the brand plays in influencing customer choice
• The strength the brand has to command a premium price or secure earnings for the company

2014 Overview: Brands Entering the “Age of You”

In addition to identifying the top 100 most valuable brands, this year’s Best Global Brands report also examines three pivotal ages in brand history that have reshaped business for the better: the Age of Identity, the Age of Value, and the Age of Experience. Interbrand contends that a new, emerging era is upon the global business world: the Age of You.

“As consumers and devices become more connected and integrated, the data being generated is creating value for consumers, for brands, and for the world at large,” said Frampton. “As a result, brands from all categories and sectors will get smarter—with products and devices working in concert with one another, across supply chains, and in tandem with our own individual data sets. Brands that seek to lead in the forthcoming Age of You will have to create truly personalized and curated experiences, or what we call ‘Mecosystems,’ around each and every one of us. Such brands will have to rehumanize the data, uncover genuine insights, and deliver against individual wants, needs, and desires.”

Key Report Highlights

2014 TOP RISERS: Facebook (#29, +86%), Audi (#45, +27%), Amazon (#15, +25%), Volkswagen (#31, +23%), and Nissan (#56, +23%)

Facebook (#29, +86%): The world’s largest social network, Facebook continues to exceed expectations. Reported on its Q2 earnings call, income from its operations was a staggering USD $1.4 billion. One year prior it was USD $562 million. Facebook’s ad business on mobile phones has been particularly strong. For the first time in its history, the company reported that revenue from advertising on mobile phones exceeded half (53 percent) of all its advertising for the quarter. Facebook’s acquisitions of messaging service WhatsApp for USD $19 billion and Oculus VR for USD $2 billion signal a new strategy unfolding. The company is building a vast product portfolio, brimming with competing services and apps.

Audi (#45, +27%): Audi is the top-rising automotive brand in this year’s Best Global Brands report. It was a record-breaking year for the brand, having sold the greatest amount of cars in its history, and having achieved an operating profit of more than USD $6 billion. The company also awed audiences at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada with its A7 self-driving car. Audi also plans to introduce 17 new or revamped models this year and will move forward with the production of an electric version of the R8 sports car in a push to gain momentum on rival BMW (#11). The company also plans to invest more than USD $30 billion through 2018 in new products, technology, and production sites. Earlier this year, it also announced a partnership with Google, which will allow Audi drivers and passengers to use an Android-powered entertainment and information system that will run on the car’s hardware.