To establish a valuable brand is very much different from establishing a powerful brand. Brand Finance’s Brand Strength Index examined the main factors that define a brand, such as brand loyalty, corporate reputation, promotion, familiarity and staff satisfaction. Still, a valuable brand is not always a powerful one.
Ferrari, which topped the 2014 list of strongest brands, is now has dropped to the 9th spot. The research explains that the brand continues to be very powerful. However, Ferrari has lost some of the hype around it. The company has not won an F1 title lately. In addition, Ferrari’s chairman of 23 years, Luca Di Montezemolo, quit the company last year, which led to some major strategy changes.
The brand that was dubbed most powerful this year is LEGO. According to the report, it’s main advantage over other brands featured on the list is that it appeals to all generations. Today’s children continue to like playing with LEGO toys and many adults like the brand due to the nostalgic feeling it gives them. In addition to that, lately, the company is trying to expand its target demographic by releasing various construction sets for girls. The LEGO Movie that made it to the theatres a few months ago further boosted the brand’s strength.
Nostalgia and fans from all generations have also helped other companies to land on the Brand Strength Index. Coca Cola and Walt Disney are both among the top powerful brand in 2015. Apparel brand also did well on this list. Burberry, Rolex and Nike all found a place among the top spots.
Most powerful brands in 2015:
- LEGO
- PWC
- RedBull
- Unilever
- McKinsey&Company
- Burberry
- Rolex
- L’Oreal
- Coca Cola
- Ferrari
- Nike
- Walt Disney
Nevertheless, just one of 2015’s most powerful brands managed to find a place among the world’s most valuable brands. According to the same report, Walt Disney is now the world’s 19th most valuable brand. It is estimated that over the past one year, the company’s brand value has jumped by 30%. As a result, Walt Disney climbed eight spots in just twelve months.
Nike (31), PWC (59) and L’Oreal (92) were the only three strongest brands that ranked on the top 100 most valuable brands. Even more shocking is the fact that the world’s most powerful brand, LEGO, is 382nd on the brand value index.
Most valuable brands:
- Apple
- Samsung
- Microsoft
- Verizon
- AT&T
- Amazon.com
- General Electric
- China Mobile
- Walmart
This ranking performance gap comes from the fact that the value of a company captures mainly its current momentum. Strength of a brand, on the other hand, focuses on a brand’s general performance through the years. This means that one of the things that can make a brand powerful is a long history on the market marked by various achievements.
