The 2019 BrandZ Top 40 Most Valuable Australian Brands report shows CommBank, ANZ and Telstra at the top of the table but local brands losing value
Brand experience and innovation are key drivers of brand value, according to a new report.
The 2019 BrandZ Top 40 Most Valuable Australian Brands report released by WPP and Kantar revealed those perceived as highly innovative are growing on average 10 per cent faster than brands with a medium-to-low score, while high brand experience performers are seeing a 9 per cent improvement in value.
The report noted all brands in the top 10 this year lost brand value, apart from Bunnings, which increased in value by 46 per cent, demonstrating trust is vital to brand growth.
Taking out the top three places are CommBank, ANZ and Telstra, which lost 3 per cent, 8 per cent and 19 per cent in brand value respectively year-on-year.
“Overall, Australia’s biggest brands have dropped five per cent to US$96.8 billion led by the telco sector witnessing an 18 per cent fall as major players struggled with reduced margins; however, there are eight new entrants to the ranking in 2019," Kantar Australia executive director brand, Ryan France, said. "This demonstrates that no-one can be complacent. Companies that don’t invest in developing a strong brand can easily be replaced by those that are more effective in meeting consumer needs.”
Despite the challenging year the banking sector faced that prompted a fall 13 per cent in total category brand value, it still maintained a powerful presence within the top 40. CommBank retains the top spot with a value of US$15.9 billion, followed by ANZ at US$10.9 billion and Westpac at number four (US$7.6 billion).
Joining the top 40 for the first time are Australia Post (No. 21, US$1.1 billion) indexing 125 for innovation and 138 for brand experience, and Afterpay (No. 20, US$1.2 billion) indexing 124 for innovation.
The dividing line between many of the best performers and those that struggled was their level of perceived consumer trust. Bunnings (No. 9, US$2.7 billion) is Australia’s most trusted brand with a score of 144.
“Bunnings is a brilliant example of the power of combining consumer trust with being highly meaningful and different to the competition,” Kantar Australia executive director retail and shopper, James Brown, said.
“Those that achieved this compelling mix performed six times better in this year’s ranking; and while bricks-and-mortar retail is facing some challenges, the sector still boasts some of our most trusted brands. This is a strong asset to have as they navigate the tough economic climate. Aussie consumers do trust those brands that are highly meaningful and different to their competitors.”
CEO of The Store WPP EMEA and Asia and chairman of BrandZ, David Roth, said brands that have seen their value drop this year need to look to those getting it right and determine the long-term strategies they need to adopt to win back the consumer confidence that will act as a lever for growth.
BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable Australian Brands 2019
BrandZ Top 40 Most Valuable Australian Brands 2019 analyses brands originally created in Australia and either owned by a publicly traded enterprise or has financials published in the public domain. The ability of any brand to power business growth relies on how it is perceived by customers.
The ranking combines rigorously analysed market data from Bloomberg with extensive consumer insights from over 3.7 million consumers around the world, covering more than 166,000 different brands in over 50 markets – including opinions from over 52,000 Australian consumers on over 700 brands in 55 categories.
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