What’s in a brand name? If it’s the right one the answer is “plenty.” According to a new survey by Interbrand, which annually tracks the value of major corporate brands, Apple’s brand is worth $182.9 billion.
Apple leads the list in Interbrand’s 2012 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands Study, followed by IBM, at $116 billion, and Google, at $107.9 billion. But while they lagged at least an order of magnitude behind, a number of major automakers also landed on the list, starting with BMW, with an estimated brand value of $24.6 billion. BMW was 23rd overall on the BrandZ list.
“Brands are an insurance policy for businesses,” said Eileen Campbell, Global CEO of brand research company Millward Brown. “Despite a prolonged period of economic stress, political uncertainty and natural disasters that buffeted brands across many categories, the value of the world’s leading brands keeps rising across many categories, sustaining and nurturing businesses.”