Interbrand names Apple as top brand for seventh year running

Citing Apple's move to create an ecosystem using products and services, Interbrand assigned a 'brand value' of $234.2 billion, an increase of 9% on last year.

For the seventh consecutive year, consulting firm Interbrand has listed Apple as the number 1 marketing brand. The firm again placed Google in second place, and Amazon as third, but as with last year, noted that the retailer had made considerable improvement.

"With a slow but sure shift from products into services," said Interbrand in a tweet, "Apple continues to build a formidable ecosystem."

Interbrand produces this list based on its own analysis of what it describes as Brand Strength factors, and which are themselves a combination of external and internal factors to do with each company.

For this 2019 listing, Interbrand said that Apple was particularly strong in the areas of Governance, Engagement and Differentiations.

Governance, according to Interbrand, is to do with "the degree to which the organization has the required skills... that enables effective and efficient deployment of the brand strategy."

Engagement is to do with how much customers identify with the brand, and differentiation is how much those buyers "perceive the brand to have a differentiated proposition and brand experience."

Detail from Interbrand's 2019 listings

Second place entrant Google was described as having increased its brand success by 8% for an estimated brand value of $167,713 million. Amazon had a more marked improvement at a 24% increase, bringing its brand worth to $125,263 million, according to Interbrand.

Half of the top ten brands are technology firms, with the top five being Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola, in sequence. Samsung came in at number 6, while the top ten is rounded out by Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, McDonald's and Disney.