BrandZ Top 100 Ranking of the World's Most Valuable Brands

Tech giants Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook took places in the top five of the BrandZTM Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking for 2017, published today by WPP and Kantar Millward Brown.

Amazon recorded the largest value increase of any brand in the Top 100, rising by USD 40.3 billion (+41%) to USD 139.3 billion, giving it 4th place on the list. This retail giant continued to focus on developing its own technology ecosystem, tailored to meeting consumers' diverse needs such as online shopping, fast delivery and entertainment, and also introduced new services based on artificial intelligence, including grocery delivery and a personal assistant app called Alexa. Google, Apple and Microsoft hold the top three positions, increasing their brand values over the past year by 7% to USD 245.6 billion, 3% to USD 234.7 billion and 18% to USD 143.2 billion respectively, while Facebook, in 5th place, recorded growth of 27% to USD 129.8 billion. The combined value of the top five accounts for 25% of the total value of all brands in the ranking, which demonstrates their dominant position in modern business.

David Roth of The Store WPP, CEO for EMEA and Asia, said: "This year's BrandZ Top 100 continues to show that strong brands deliver the highest value and returns for shareholders regardless of potential external disruption. The tech giants at the top of the ranking, sometimes called the 'fearsome five', often strike fear into competitors because of their enormous strength and seemingly unassailable market position." Among other important elements of this year's ranking is the Chinese brand Tencent (No. 8), which, thanks to increased use of its WeChat social platform, entered the top ten for the first time, with its brand value rising by 27% to USD 108.3 billion. Adidas was the fastest-growing brand in percentage terms (up 58%, to USD 8.3 billion), followed by the Chinese premium spirits brand Moutai (up 48%, to USD 17 billion).

Information from trust

The BrandZ ranking is the largest and most authoritative platform reflecting brand dynamics worldwide – the ranking includes brands that effectively fit into the lifestyles of today's consumers. BrandZ is based on a unique brand value study that combines findings from interviews conducted with more than 3 million consumers worldwide and analysis of companies' financial and business results (based on Bloomberg and Kantar Worldpanel data). This year, the total value of the 100 largest brands rose by 8%, to USD 3.64 trillion, compared with growth of 3% in 2016, while the number of brands worth more than USD 100 billion increased from six to nine. Since 2006 (when the first edition of the ranking was published), the total value of the brands covered by the ranking has risen by 152%, and it includes an increasing number of innovative, consumer-focused technology brands characterized by enormous reach and strength. The top ten of the BrandZ 2017 ranking is worth almost as much as the entire Top 100 in 2006 (USD 1.42 trillion vs. USD 1.44 trillion), and value growth reached 249%, while the entire Top 100 recorded growth of 152% over the same period.

The value of brands in the BrandZ Top 100 ranking confirms that strong brands continue to outperform the competition. If we compare this ranking with key benchmarks over the past 12 years, we can conclude that the value of the BrandZ Top 100 portfolio rose by 50% more than the value of brands in the S&P 500, reaching 3.5 times the MSCI All Country World Index.

The 2017 ranking shows that the balance of power has definitively shifted in favor of consumer-focused technology brands, developing ecosystems that meet many needs and thereby simplify people's lives in an increasingly complex world. More than half of the total value of brands in the BrandZ Top 100 comes from technology-related brands (this definition also includes telecommunications and online retail), whereas in 2006 technology brands accounted for one third of that value. These brands grew by 16% in the past year, while non-technology brands grew by 4%.

Nine of the top 10 leaders are technology-related brands

As were all seven new brands in the Top 100 in 2017, namely XFinity, YouTube, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Salesforce, Netflix, Snapchat and Sprint.

Retail was the fastest-growing category, recording value growth of 14% over the past 12 months. The leaders here were e-commerce brands such as Amazon and Alibaba, which – like many internet-born companies – pursued a policy of expanding sales channels by opening new brick-and-mortar stores. The overall value growth of retailers operating exclusively online was 388% since 2006, while traditional retail chains recorded a decline of 23%, because it took them longer to adapt their offerings to online commerce. The technology category grew by 13%, while fast food was the third fastest-growing category this year (7%), as leading brands introduced fresh food products and cheaper meal deals, as well as innovations in customer touchpoints, providing better brand experiences.

Top ten of the BrandZ ranking of the world's most valuable brands in 2017

As for regions, American brands occupy the dominant position in the ranking – there are 54 of them in the BrandZ Top 100, accounting for 71% of the ranking's total brand value. Last year these brands recorded growth of 12%, while brands from other parts of the world fell by 1%. The exception was China, where the combined growth of brands, excluding state-owned enterprises, was 11%. The value of the 20 largest B2B brands increased by 11%. Microsoft still holds first place, growing by 10% to USD 143.2 billion, while Shell is the fastest-growing B2B brand – its growth was 23% (to USD 18.3 billion). This year's ranking also indicates that the digital world is bringing the business environment and the consumer world closer together, and the boundary between the B2B and B2C segments is blurring, resulting in brands described as B2H (business-to-human).

Key trends from this year's BrandZ Top 100 global ranking:

• Consumer-focused technology ecosystems make brands an indispensable part of life. Consumers can increasingly perform various activities – from online shopping to watching television – within a single brand environment and across multiple devices. By offering convenience to consumers, the strongest brands are able to minimize the risk that consumers will look for another provider.

• New brands are becoming increasingly global, enabling them to grow quickly. Thanks to new technologies, companies can offer products and services worldwide from their first day of operation. This creates a new group of entrepreneurs, unconstrained by the geographic or sectoral boundaries that traditionally limited the pace and scale of growth.

• Traditional non-technology brands are introducing technological innovations to increase their appeal to consumers. The fastest-growing company in the ranking, Adidas, introduced 3D printing into shoe production, while Domino's Pizza offers customers real-time order tracking.

• The BrandZ Top 100 ranking is becoming younger. The average age of a brand is now 67 years, whereas in 2006 the average age was 84 years. This is the result of the emergence of newer technology brands and the development of brands in China.

• Brands that clearly communicate how they will make their customers' lives easier, for example Huawei and Toyota, record on average three times more dynamic growth over the past 12 years (the top tercile of the ranking grew by 170%, and the bottom third by 57%).

• Effective communication gives brands an advantage. The top third of brands in terms of communication (including McDonald's and L'Oréal Paris) increased their value by 196%, while brands in the bottom tercile recorded growth of 47% over the same period. Brands owe such good results to effectively strengthening their distinctiveness among competitors.

Doreen Wang, who is responsible for the global BrandZ ranking at Kantar Millward Brown, commented on the results as follows: "We live in the era of internet giants that have built constantly evolving consumer engagement ecosystems, and their main goal is to make life easier, simpler and better. Technology that puts the consumer at the center of its attention is redefining our expectations, and it is already obvious to us that products, services, tools and content are instantly available at our fingertips. These brands also show great flexibility – they boldly and fearlessly enter new areas and new categories to develop and expand their customer base."

Reports and rankings of the world's most valuable brands, BrandZ™ Top 100, as well as a wealth of information about brands from the most important regions and 14 market sectors, can be found online here. The global report, rankings, charts, articles and many other materials can also be downloaded via the BrandZ app. The BrandZ app contains the same features and functionality for all BrandZ regional reports. The version for Apple iOS and all Android devices can be downloaded free of charge at www.brandz.com/mobile or by searching for BrandZ in the iTunes or Google Play app stores.

About the BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking

The BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking, run by Kantar Millward Brown, which provides marketing consultancy and brand research within the WPP group, has existed for twelve years. It is the only study that combines brand value metrics based on interviews conducted with more than 3 million consumers worldwide. These interviews cover thousands of global consumer brands and business-to-business brands. A methodologically rigorous analysis of each company's financial and business results is then carried out (based on data supplied by Bloomberg and Kantar Worldpanel) to isolate the brand's contribution to generated sales and shareholder value. A key element in determining brand value is how it is perceived by consumers, because brands are the product of business performance, product appeal, clear positioning and leadership. The ranking takes regional differences into account, because – even in the case of truly global brands – the metrics of brands' contribution to value creation can differ significantly across countries.

About Kantar Millward Brown

Kantar Millward Brown is a leading research agency specializing in advertising effectiveness, strategic communication, traditional and digital media, and brand value research. The company helps its clients build strong brands through comprehensive solutions based on qualitative and quantitative research. Kantar Millward Brown operates in more than 55 countries and belongs to the Kantar group of WPP, one of the world's leading companies in data, insight and consultancy. More information at www.millwardbrown.com.

About WPP

WPP is the world's largest provider of communication services, with revenue of USD 74 billion and income of more than USD 19 billion. Through its operating companies, the Group offers a comprehensive range of advertising and marketing services, including areas such as media and advertising investment management; data investment management; public relations; brands and their identity; healthcare communications; digital marketing, e-commerce and in-store marketing; and specialist communications. WPP employs more than 205,000 people (including associates and employees of acquired companies) in more than 3,000 offices in 112 countries worldwide. More information at www.wpp.com.

For the sixth consecutive time, WPP was named Holding Company of the Year at the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2016. For the fifth consecutive time, WPP was named the Most Effective Holding Company in the Effie Effectiveness Index for 2016. In 2017, for the third consecutive time, WPP was named by Warc 100 as the World's Top Holding Company.