14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has bested Google, Coca-Cola, and McDonalds this year to become the world’s most valuable brand. The company’s continued success with the iPhone line is probably what got it here.
After 13 years of domination, Coca-Cola this year finally ceded the top of the chart to companies such as web giant Google, computer behemoth Microsoft, or fast-food chain McDonald’s. Apple is leader of the pack in 2013, with Google trailing it in the second spot.
Best Global Brands 2013 names the following top-10 companies: Apple, Google, Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft, General Electric, McDonald’s, Samsung, Intel, Toyota.
According to Interbrand, “Every so often, a company changes our lives, not just with its products, but also with its ethos. This is why, following Coca-Cola’s 13-year run at the top of Best Global Brands, Interbrand has a new #1—Apple.”
“Few brands have enabled so many people to do so much so easily, which is why Apple has legions of adoring fans, as evidenced by the record-breaking launch of the iPhone 5c/5s,” it adds.
An identity and brand consulting company, Interbrand also notes that Apple was the most valuable company of all time in 2012, a peak value that was not sustained, “but the brand’s financial performance in 2012 was even stronger than 2011 and, on a product and popularity basis, Apple continues to whet appetites for more,” it adds.
The Interbrand report mentions every key aspect about Apple and its business, including the latest anti-theft enhancements in iOS 7, the upcoming Mac Pro (which Apple is assembling in America), and the potential iWatch.
It doesn’t leave out grittier aspects about the company, such as “being found guilty by a US court of conspiring with publishers to fix the price of e-books bought via iTunes.”