As technology PRs, we were interested to read this week that Google has overtaken Apple as the world’s most valuable brand.
Google’s investment in a self-driving car project, Google Glass, Android partnerships and its upcoming line of smartwatches has resulted in profits of $3.45bn, while Apple’s brand value has fallen by 20 per cent thereby conceding the top spot it has held for three years to Google.
The findings come from Millward Brown’s BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking and as usual it is technology brands who dominate the top positions when it comes to brand value. Facebook’s brand value rose placing it at 21st in the rankings while new entries include Twitter (ranked 71st) and LinkedIn (ranked 78th).
Explaining why he thinks these brands have been successfully risen up the ranks this year, Peter Walshe, Global Brandz Director at Millward Brown said: “Digital service brands such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are now more than just tools, they have become part of our lives.
“They offer new forms of communication that absorb people’s attention and imagination, while also helping them organise the rest of their lives at the same time. To gain more of our mind-space brands such as Google are making ambitious plays across existing category boundaries.”
It’ll be interesting to see Apple’s response to their fall from the top spot. It’s exciting times for the global tech industry at the moment and we’ll be keeping a keen eye open to see what it has up its sleeve to regain top billing from Google.
