Google named world's most valuable global brand

30 May 2009

Internet search engine giant, Google has been named the number one brand in the fourth annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, as it continues to increase its value from $86 billion last year to $100 billion in 2009, which represents a growth of 16 per cent.

The BrandZ Top 100 ranking identifies the dollar value of brands. It does this by combining financial data with research on consumers and business-to-business users from BrandZ, the world's largest brand equity study.

The fourth annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking, published today by Millward Brown Optimor has named Google's arch rival, Microsoft to the second place, which climbed up one position from last year with a current value of $76.2 billion - also up 8 per cent over last year.

Coca-Cola has entered the top three for the first time at $67.6 billion followed by IBM at $66.62 billion, McDonald's $66.57 billion, Apple $66.11 billion, China Mobile $61.28 billion, GE $59.79 billion, Vodafone $53.72 billion and Marlboro $49.46 billion.

Millward Brown said that in a year of global financial turmoil, when every key financial indicator plummeted, the value of the top 100 brands increased by 2 per cent to $2 trillion

''In the current environment, where the value of many businesses has fallen, brand has become even more important because it can help to sustain companies in tough times,'' said Joanna Seddon, CEO Millward Brown Optimor. ''Those who continue to invest in their brand will be better positioned for business growth as the economic situation starts to improve than those who have cut spend.''