Apple, Google Are World's Best Known Brands

Interbrand's 16th annual Best Global Brands report, released today, identifies the 100 most valuable global brands.

Highlights For the third year in a row:

• Apple (#1) and Google (#2) claim the top positions. Valued at USD $170.276 billion, Apple increases its brand value by 43 percent. Google, valued at $120.314 billion, increases its brand value by 12 percent. Microsoft (#4) edges ahead of IBM (#5), and Amazon (#10) enters the Top 10 for the first time with a brand value of USD $37.948 billion.
• Five new brands entered this year's ranking: Lego (#82), PayPal (#97), MINI (#98), Moet & Chandon (#99), and Lenovo (#100). Lenovo is the second Chinese brand to appear on the Best Global Brands ranking. The first was Huawei (#88), which entered the ranking in 2014.
• Technology and automotive brands dominate this year's ranking, holding a combined 28 positions. Technology brands, in particular, dominate -- collectively making up more than a third (33.6%) of the total value of all 100 brands.

Top 10

1. Apple (#1, +43%)
2. Google (#2, +12%)
3. Coca-Cola (#3, -4%)
4. Microsoft (#4, +11%)
5. IBM (#5, -10%)
6. Toyota (#6, +16%)
7. Samsung (#7, 0%)
8. GE (#8, -7%)
9. McDonald's (#9, -6%)
10. Amazon (#10, +29%)

Top Risers

• Facebook (#23, +54%)
• Apple (#1, +43%)
• Amazon (#10, +29%)
• Hermes (#41, +22%)
• Nissan (#49, +19%)

New Entrants

• Lego (#82)
• PayPal (#97)
• MINI (#98)
• Moet & Chandon (#99)
• Lenovo (#100)

"The Best Global Brands report examines what it takes for brands to succeed in today's hyper-fragmented world. As people demand immediate, personalized and tailored experiences, business and brands need to move at the speed of life," says Jez Frampton, Interbrand's Global Chief Executive Officer. "Many of the brands in this year's Top 100 are so intuitively aligned with people's priorities, that they are able to seamlessly integrate into their everyday lives."

The ranking is based on a combination of attributes that contribute to a brand's cumulative value:

• The financial performance of the branded products and services
• The role the brand plays in influencing customer choice
• The strength the brand has to command a premium price or secure earnings for the company