The title of most powerful tech brand worldwide goes to Google for the first time in six years, according to Brand Finance, which ranks brands based on its own index. The previous No. 1 spot was occupied by Apple, but the brand valuation firm has firmly devalued the giant by $38.7 billion as optimism around Apple’s ability to innovate and sustain revenue growth wane. Overall, however, tech brands enjoyed an brand value growth rate of 26%, against a figure of 20% across all sectors.
The most powerful tech brands of 2017, according to Brand Finance, are:
- YouTube
- Microsoft
- Samsung Electronics
- Tencent
- Apple
- Intel
- HIK Vision
Apple’s steep devaluation doesn’t mean that the tech brand is dead, however. It still occupies the No. 2 spot based on dollar brand value, at $107 billion (shrinking 27%). That’s just a $2 billion difference from Google’s valuation, at an estimated $109 bilion (24%).
Chinese tech brands are performing particularly well this year. Alibaba’s brand value nearly doubled (94%) to $34.8 billion. Key to the companies growth are its inroads into the domestic Chinese market, particularly rural communities. Most recently, Alibaba partnered with Mattel to develop, market, and sell playthings specifically designed for Chinese consumers.
Tencent (up 136%) and WeChat (103%) are Chinese social media brands that also enjoyed steep growth despite being largely confined to their domestic Chinese market. WeChat in particular offers a more extensive range of services than any comparable brand, from mobile payments to video games and text messaging to video sharing. As a result, it is far more embedded in the daily life of its average user, even replacing work emails for many Chinese.
In contrast, Snapchat was valued at only $1.7 billion even as the company gears up for an IPO that it itself values somewhere between $19.5 billion and $22 billion. And Twitter’s brand value fell 39% to $2.5 billion after rapid slowdowns in user growth. Facebook bucked the trend, growing 82%. And while YouTube was No. 21 in Brand Finance’s ranking by sheer dollar value (at $12 billion), the company was behind only Google in its most “powerful” brands listing.
Notable growth was also observed from Nintendo (up 73% to $4.7 billion) and Nokia (62%, $4.9 billion), both of which can expect to bank on their brand equity with strong profits from licensing deals this year.
Although it doesn’t make the most powerful brands list, Amazon.com enjoyed the largest dollar growth in brand value (up $36 billion, or 53%). The retailer was followed by Facebook ($28 billion, 82%), Google ($21 billion, 24%), and Alibaba ($17 billion, 94%).
Data Source: Brand Finance. Note: Numbers may not add up exactly due to rounding. |
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Rank, 2017 | Rank, 2016 | Brand | Brand Value in Millions, 2017 | Growth, 2016–2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | $109,470 | 24% | |
2 | 1 | Apple | $107,141 | -27% |
3 | 4 | Amazon.com | $106,396 | 53% |
4 | 5 | Microsoft | $76,265 | 13% |
5 | 6 | $61,998 | 82% | |
6 | 3 | Samsung Electronics | $51,416 | 12% |
7 | 7 | IBM | $36,112 | 14% |
8 | 12 | Alibaba | $34,859 | 94% |
9 | 9 | Oracle | $25,878 | 17% |
10 | 10 | Huawei | $25,230 | 28% |