Tata among world's 50 most valuable brands; Google tops

Brand Tata has entered the league of the top 50 valuable global brands, being ranked at 41. Five US companies have taken the top slots as best global brands in BrandFinance's Gloabl 100 most valuable brands, with the first four among them being technology businesses.

Internet giant Google ranked No 1, followed by Apple, Microsoft and IBM. Gloabl retail giant Wal-Mart was ranked fifth, in the survey which saw the entry of brand Tata Group into the top 50 for the first time.

Brand Finance plc, ranked Google as the world's most valuable brand with a brand value of $48.278 billion, followed by the maker of the iconic iPhone and the iPad, Apple with $39.301 billion, Microsoft with $39.05 billion, IBM with $35.981 billion and WalMart with $34.997 billion.

While Google retained its top ranking, the biggest gainer among the top five was Apple, which rose to the 2nd spot from 8th last year.

Brand Finance said that the global economic crisis caused losses of intangible assets value worth $6.3 trillion since January 2011.

It said that the financial service brands were hit the hardest due to tougher legislation, sluggish activity in the corporate market and ongoing fears regarding exposure to sovereign debt. Bank brands in the top 100 have lost $25.9 billion or 7 per cent from their total brand value since January 2011.

HSBC has become the world's most valuable financial services brand,  staying steady at number 10, while the biggest US bank, Bank of America, saw its brand value fall by $5.3 billion taking it down to No 14 in the ranking.

Insurance brands saw a drop of 6 per cent with AXA fairing worst, with a loss of $1.6 billion brand value taking them out of the top 50 global brands.

The economic crisis did not affect the tech sector brand values, with technology brands Google, Apple and Microsoft taking the top three positions in the table. Apple increased its value by 33 per cent, making it a more valuable brand than Microsoft for the first time.

The total brand value for the 46 US-based brands declined by 2 per cent from January this year. US brands dependent on their home market suffered bigger losses than global brands including McDonald's, Nike and Coca-Cola who improved their positions in their individual rankings.

Coca-Cola has reversed the decline in BrandFinance Global 500 and is now the 11th most valuable brand. This shift creates a greater lead over its longstanding rival, Pepsi, which is ranked 25th with a brand value of $19.1 billion.                      

The automotive sector has also performed well in the last six months, with crisis-plagued Toyota re-entering the top 10 with a value of $28.8 billion.

Japanese brands dropped 3 per cent as a result of the tsunami while Europe felt the pressure with Spanish brands down 13 per cent and France 5 per cent, both that were exposed to issues within the financial services sector.

Among emerging economies, China, India and South Korea, all showed strong performances, with the total brand value of Chinese companies increasing as two new brands, PetroChina and China Life Insurance Company entered the top 100.

South Korean giant, Samsung was one of the best performing companies as it increased its  brand value to $26.6 billion - up 24 per cent. Samsung, unlike its Japanese counterparts, did not experience supply chain disruptions due to the tsunami.

The salt-to-luxury car conglomerate Tata moved up the table from 50 to 41 with a new brand value of $14.8 billion.

David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance said, ''As stock markets around the world falter, we are seeing a drop in the amount of intangible value global businesses hold and the value of the individual brands. The dramatic shifts that can be seen since the BrandFinance Global 500 launched earlier this year illustrate how vital it is for businesses to track the value of their brands. Even the world?s biggest businesses are not immune to change.''