Internet, Tech Brands Playing with the Big Boys

Internet brands such as America Online, Yahoo! and Amazon.com are among the fastest growing
brand names in the world, according to the World’s Most Valuable Brands survey
by Interbrand.

The survey, conducted in conjunction with Citibank, identified and ranked the top
global brands valued at $1 billion or more. A total of 75 brands qualified
this year. Yahoo! was ranked No. 38, experiencing 258 percent growth in brand
value over last year. AOL was ranked No. 47, and Amazon.com was No. 48, with
233 percent growth.

Coca-Cola was the top-ranked brand for the second year in a row, despite a 13
percent drop in brand value from last year. Software maker Microsoft
was the highest ranking
technology brand, coming in at No. 2 with a brand value of $70.2 billion.

“Translating brand power into economic value begins and ends with a focus on
brands as corporate assets,” said Martyn Straw, president of Interbrand US.
“Companies that outperform their peers in brand value creation understand this
well, and proactively manage their brands as they would other key strategic
assets of the company as a way to secure long-term shareholder value.”

The high-tech industry was the biggest brand value builder in the past 12
months, with the majority of the tech companies in the top 75 experiencing
double-digit growth for their brand value. Other high-tech companies that made
this year’s survey include IBM (No. 3), Intel (No. 4), Nokia (No. 5),
Hewlett-Packard (No. 13), Cisco (No. 14), Compaq (No. 15), Dell (No. 28), and
Ericsson (No. 32).

The entire list of the top 75 is available on Interbrand’s Web site.