Google is ranked as the Most Valuable Global Brand in Millward Brown and WPP’s annual BrandZ study for 2016. Google’s brand value is estimated at $229.2 billion having risen 32% from 2015. Apple is ranked 2nd at $228.5 billion, losing 8% of its brand value since last year.
The Brandz study focused on a number of factors and is available in PDF format to read in full.
Amazon was the fastest rising brand having risen in value 59% since 2015, from $62 billion to $99 billion. The report explained it this way:
Amazon, which leads the Top 20 Risers, rose 59 percent in brand value compared with an 8 percent increase for the retail category. The brand introduced Amazon Fresh food delivery in three US cities and partnered with the grocery chain Morrisons for home delivery of food in the UK. In addition, Amazon delivered more merchandise using its own capacity rather than its logistics partners, a move that enabled it to better control the customer experience, which in some 30 cities worldwide included one-hour delivery for Amazon Prime customers.
The brand also introduced Amazon Dash, a program in which customers signal for replenishment of certain FMCG items at the exact moment of need. It anticipates the transition to automatic replenishment of the Internet of Things. Amazon also developed its cloud storage business, Amazon Web Services, demonstrating how the border between business-to-consumer and business-to-business brands is becoming more porous.