Commonwealth Bank leads four Australian brands in the 2013 top 100 Global brands list

Australia’s Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Bank, Westpac and Woolworths have been placed in a new list of the top 100 global brands for 2013.

The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study, which was commissioned by WPP and conducted by Millward Brown Optimor, combines the views of potential and current buyers of a brand as well as financial data to calculate a brand value.

The report placed the Commonwealth Bank at number 48, jumping 12 places since 2012, when it became the first Australian brand added to the list. Its value also leapt 36 per cent to US$17.7bn.

ANZ Bank came in at number 52 with a brand value of $16.6bn, followed by Woolworths at 80th with a brand value of $11bn, and Westpac at 88th with a brand value of $10.1bn.

“Australian brands are fast gaining prominence as emerging overachievers, having added a further three brands to the list in 2013,” Millward Brown Optimor Sydney spokesperson, Johnny Panagiotidis, said.

“The four Australian entrants are a testament to the relative strength of our economy and our increasing ties with Asia. The rise of the Australian dollar also lifted the relative value of the brands.”

This year’s list was again topped by Apple, with a brand value of just over $185bn, followed by Google with a value brand of $113.7bn. Rounding out the top 10 were IBM, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Microsoft, Marlboro, Visa and China Mobile.

One of the most improved performances was from Samsung, which has been at the forefront of the smartphone boon with its Galaxy series of devices, and spent $1.6bn more on advertising in the last year. Samsung was 30th in this year’s list with a brand value of $21bn.

The highest growth category this year was beer, with brands in this sector growing a total of 36 per cent year-on-year to a combined value of $63bn. Technology also continues to dominate the rankings and accounted for 29 of the top 100 brands worth 43 per cent of the total value ($1 trillion).

Millward Brown global CEO, Eileen Campbell, claimed the brand valuation and measurement research show the return on marketing investment needed by marketers to gain a stronger voice in the boardroom.

“These ensure that marketing is better understood and accounted for as a key driver of financial and business success,” she said.

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