New report names the world’s top brands… including a notable Aussie company for the first time
International brand consultancy, Interbrand, has released its latest Best Global Brands report, which features an Australian company for the first time ever.
This year’s report coincides with Interbrand’s “quarter of a century of brand valuation analysis”. Overall, the company’s research found that “short-term financial gains” can be attributed to performance marketing tactics, but “a lack of investment in long-term brand strategy” has resulted in the best global brands holding “at least $US3.5T of unrealized value” – a $US200B loss in revenue.
Regardless, the most valuable brands worldwide have amassed a cumulative value of $US3.4T, indicating a 3.4x increase from $US988B since Interbrand published its first ranking.
“If these brands had been treated and managed as strategic growth assets, then this table could be worth as much as $US6.9T. The growth we see hides a staggering missed opportunity,” said the company’s global chief executive officer (CEO), Gonzalo Brujó.
Despite this, Interbrand’s latest list is historic for referencing an Australian brand in Who Gives A Crap, marking “the first time an Australian brand [has been] mentioned in the report”.
When discussing the connection between desire and brands, specifically how desire is fundamental to “the model on which the luxury category is built” (as the report states), Interbrand used the toilet paper brand as an example of what happens when brand rules surrounding purchases and desire are applied to categories outside of luxury.
“Consider the Australian toilet paper brand Who Gives A Crap. In creating connection built around a strong brand, the business was able to transcend a functional need—and in doing so, built desire,” the report says.
“People want to buy Crap toilet paper. It’s not that we spend all our time thinking about toilet paper; just enough to disrupt the model and steal market share.
“If you can do that with toilet paper, you can probably do it with anything…”
“I’m delighted to see for the first time an Australian brand mentioned in the report – Who Gives a Crap – fast becoming a global brand icon, but or report highlights a concerning trend: an over-reliance on short-term performance tactics has cost the world’s most valuable brands $US3.5 trillion in cumulative brand value since we started our study. This ‘efficiency tax’ is a wake-up call for Australian businesses,” Interbrand Australia’s CEO, Nathan Birch, said.
Nathan Birch
“While operational efficiency is important, it shouldn’t come at the expense of building strong, desire-driven brands that can drive exponential growth across multiple arenas.
“Brands are moving from ‘finding customers for your competencies’ to ‘building competencies around your customers’. It’s allowing brands to expand beyond traditional category boundaries and tap into new arenas of opportunity.
“Our analysis shows that for every point increase in the combined Role of Brand and Brand Strength, businesses can expect a 2.3x return on their stock price. This underscores the critical importance of the brand as a competitive moat and long-term growth driver. Australian brands need to ask themselves that investing in brand is not just about making gloriously creative TV ads and performance marketing; it’s about creating sustainable business value.”
Sitting above Microsoft and Amazon who came in at second and third, respectively, Apple was ranked number one as the most valuable brand, but its brand value (BV) dropped by 3%.
“While others rushed into AI, Apple took a more deliberate path to ensure its AI releases matched its values. This slower-moving act of leadership has put long-term trust ahead of short-term revenue gains. Following these brand moves, Apple’s stock has moved up 20% YTD and we anticipate that Apple’s value will increase in the 2025 rankings,” said Interbrand’s global director of brand economics, Greg Silverman.
The automotive industry has a sizeable presence in the rankings. Amongst the 100 top brands, 14 of them belong to the vehicular sector, with Toyota at number six; Mercedes-Benz at number eight; and BMW at number 10, making them amongst the world’s top 10 brands.
Luxury goods also made a name for themselves in the report. Luxury’s BV saw an overall increase of 7% (compared to last year’s 6.5% increase). Ferrari’s +21% in BV saw it hit number 62 in the rankings. Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton came in at number 11; Hermès nabbed number 22 and a 15% jump in BV; and Prada sits at number 83 with a BV increase of 14%.
Meanwhile, Nvidia, Pandora, Range Rover and Jordan are newcomers to the list, placing at numbers 36, 91, 96 and 99, respectively. Both LG and Uber made it back on the report, sitting at numbers 97 and 78, respectively.
Throughout its 25 years of operations, Interbrand picked up on a notable change “in the ways company boardrooms approach growth.”
While c-suite professionals have been found to be “prioritizing lower total investments with more immediate returns”, “the gold standard” has seen short-term revenue gains integrate with long-term brand equity. However, these strategies are not common.
“Performance tools, capabilities and systems have evolved over the past quarter century. As these tools shift, so do the pressures and expectations placed on brand and marketing leaders,” Brujó explained.
“Today, CMOs are expected to deliver greater revenue returns, in shorter time frames, for a lower investment.
“Many of the world’s most valuable brands are missing out on significant earning potential by over-investing in short-term gains. Our analysis shows these gains, when tied predominantly to short-term tactics, can undermine a company’s mid- to long-term revenue potential.”
The full report can be accessed here.
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Matthew is the editorial assistant at Mumbrella. He joined the company at the end of September 2023.
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