For the first time in 5 years, Apple had to take the crown off its head and hand it over to Google, which has assumed the position of the most valuable brand in the world.
Gasp! What happened?
Every year, Brand Finance puts the biggest brands of the world to the test. After assessing factors like familiarity, corporate reputation, brand loyalty, and marketing investment, it draws up a list of the 500 most powerful and valuable brands, which make their way into the Brand Finance Global 500 Report.
Since 2012, Apple has claimed the distinction of being the most valuable brand. But this year, they had to relinquish the title to the search engine giant. While Google’s brand value went up to $109 billion in 2016, Apple’s fell from $145.9 billion to $107.1 billion. Even their record breaking Q1 2017 earnings call couldn’t salvage the situation, as Apple’s rating slipped 27% – the largest witnessed by any company last year!
Brand Finance didn’t mince their words when talking about Apple’s fall from grace. “… Apple has over-exploited the goodwill of its customers.” They went on to say that the company had “disillusioned its advocates with tweaks when material changes were expected”. Their failure to “demonstrate that genuinely innovative technologies desired by consumers are in the pipeline” has also cost them significantly.
Tch-tch-tch, Apple, very bad!
Google, on the other hand, has remained “largely unchallenged in its core search business, which is the mainstay of its advertising income”. Lack of strong competitors as well as constant innovation have gone a long way in furthering the company’s brand strength.
With Google and Apple taking the first two spots, Amazon, AT&T, and Microsoft grabbed the 3rd, 4th, and 5th rank. Lego came up as the most powerful brand this year, a position that was held by Walt Disney in 2016.
Depressed as Apple might be for losing the top position, they’ve got one thing to cheer them up – Samsung isn’t in the top 5. In times like this, it’s the small things that bring the most comfort!
