Most Valuable Brands 2005

July 22, 2005 - 11:23 Business

In the new special report, BusinessWeek and Interbrand rank the companies that best built their images - and made them stick in 2005. The names that gained the most in value focus ruthlessly on every detail of their brands, honing simple, cohesive identities that are consistent in every product, in every market around the world, and in every contact with consumers. (In the ranking, which is compiled in partnership with brand consultancy Interbrand Corp., a dollar value is calculated for each brand using publicly available data, projected profits, and variables such as market leadership.)

The brands that rose to the top of our ranking, says BW article, all had widely varied marketing arsenals and were able to unleash different campaigns for different consumers in varied media almost simultaneously. They wove messages over multiple media channels and blurred the lines between ads and entertainment. As a result, these brands can be found in a host of new venues: the Web, live events, cell phones, and handheld computers.

The era of building brands namely through mass media advertising is over. The predominant thinking of the world's most successful brand builders these days is not so much the old game of reach (how many consumers see my ad) and frequency (how often do they see it), but rather finding ways to get consumers to invite brands into their lives. The mass media won't disappear as a tool. But smart companies see the game today as making bold statements in design and wooing consumers by integrating messages so closely into entertainment that the two are all but indistinguishable.

Top 10 Global Brands by Value in 2005 ($m)

1. Coca Cola - 67,525
2. Microsoft - 59,941
3. IBM - 53,376
4. GE - 46,996
5. Intel - 35,588
6. Nokia - 26,452
7. Disney - 26,441
8. McDonald's- 26,014
9. Toyota - 24,837
10. Marlboro - 21,189

Top 5 Gainers

1. eBay - +21%
2. HSBC - +20%
3. Samsung - +19%
4. Apple - +16%
5. UBS - +16%

Top 5 Loosers

1. Sony - -16%
2. Morgan Stanley - -15%
3. Volkswagen - -12%
4. Levi's - -11%
5. Hewlett Packard - -10%

See full Top 100 Best Global Brands by Value for 2005 (PDF, 82KB)