Brand Name Present Past Reasons for Develop and Demotion

and Value Position Position

Millward Brown says that "Google has thrived thanks to

continual innovation, increased revenue from advertising,
and growth in its cloud business."
Google
1 2 Google has also been "very transparent about what it's
working on," which boosted its brand value, Millward
Brand value: Brown added.
$229.2 billion
Google officially restructured its business under new
holding company Alphabet in October, which allows its
separate businesses to operate independently and move
faster.

Millward Brown said that Apple's lack of big new

products launching this year affected its brand value.

The company did launch the Apple Watch in April, but

that hasn't yet reached mainstream appeal — despite
Apple selling more units than its other smartwatch competitors.
2 1
But Millward Brown says that Apple's move to invest in
Brand value: Didi Chuxing in China has shown how "Apple has
$228.5 billion progressively moved to building an ecosystem served not
only by gadgets, but also services."

Another big service launch was Apple Music, which

rolled out last summer.

Microsoft is the world's most valuable B2B brand,

according to Millward Brown.

Microsoft The company has seen "exponential growth" in its

3 3 commercial-cloud business — which has mostly been
driven by its Office 365 programs — and Windows 10 is
Brand value: now active on more than 270 million devices worldwide.
$121.8 billion
In order to keep laser-focused, the company has
streamlined its smartphone hardware business.

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 AT&T is the second telecoms company in the top 10.

Millward Brown suggests that one of the reasons AT&T

AT&T outperformed its competitors was the quad-play —
mobile, fixed-line, internet, and TV — bundle it offers,
4 6 through the acquisition of DirecTV.
Brand value:
$107.4 billion The research company also notes that AT&T formed
connected car partnerships with automakers, including
Ford, BMW, and Tesla.

Facebook continued its strong financial performance in

2015, and the company has been working to transform
itself into a media platform, encouraging publishers to
post original content — particularly video — to its site.
Facebook 5 12 Millward Brown also credits Facebook's long-term vision
in areas such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and
connecting the parts of the world that are not yet on the
Brand value: internet for the increase in its overall brand value this
$102.6 billion year.

Visa is the only financial brand in the top 10 this year.

The company is a big sponsor of sporting events, and its

blue, white, and yellow logo is ubiquitous in retailers
across the world.
Visa 6 5
Last year, Visa, a FIFA sponsor, came out strongly
against the corruption scandal at world football's
governing body. The company is continuing its
Brand value: partnership with FIFA and also the NFL and the
$100.8 billion Olympics.

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 Amazon was the fastest riser in this year's rankings.

Amazon Millward Brown said that Amazon is constantly disrupting

7 14 other sectors by creating new industry standards —
everything from one-hour delivery time and its own
Brand value: proprietary entertainment content to the testing of delivery
$98.9 billion drones and its Echo personal assistant.

Millward Brown says that Verizon is another company that is

Verizon investing in its future.
8 7
Verizon has expanded its business into the digital and video
Brand value: content and advertising markets, thanks to the $4.4 billion
$93.2 billion acquisition of AOL in May 2015. It also launched its Go90
mobile video-streaming app in October 2016.

Millward Brown says that McDonald's has made a number of

improvements to the business this year.

McDonald's It is making efforts to separate its drive-thru offerings —

9 9 based on convenience and speed — from its in-store
experience, where it has been rolling out customization,
Brand value: premium products, and improving hospitality.
$88.6 billion
Meanwhile, Millward Brown also notes the success of its
healthier and lifestyle-focused McCafe offerings.

Millward Brown says that IBM is "investing in its future,"

particularly with its cognitive-computing system Watson,
which is working across areas such as advertising, healthcare,
IBM education, and retail.

10 4 Millward Brown doesn't give a reason why IBM's brand value

Brand value: dropped from the previous year, but it is probably IBM's
$86.2 billion move away from consumer products that has seen the
company drop down the rankings.

Millward Brown says that "consumer perception of a brand is

a key input in determining brand value."

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 Conclusion

“Millward Brown is a British multinational market research firm focused on advertising

effectiveness, strategic communication, media and brand equity research.”

Google has overtaken Apple to become the "most valuable global brand" this year, according to
brand consultancy Millward Brown's annual BrandZ rankings.

Just like last year, technology brands dominated the top 10.

The ranking is based on interviews with more than 3 million consumers plus data on the financial
and business performance of each company, using data from Bloomberg and Kantar Worldpanel.

These are the top 10 most valuable brands in the world and an analysis of what happened over
the last 12 months to shift those companies into their respective rankings.

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