By Adam Coleman

SYDNEY: Global brand consultancy, Interbrand, in partnership with BusinessWeek has published their annual ranking of the Best Global Brands by brand value, revealing standout performances from Nokia, Motorola, LG Electronics and Philips.

Brand value is calculated as the net present value of the earnings the brand is expected to generate and secure in the future for the time frame from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006.

In the consumer electronics space, Korea’s Samsung (ranked 20th) continues to lead Japanese rival Sony (ranked 26th), although Sony did record one per cent more brand value growth in the survey, with 9 per cent growth to Samsung’s 8 per cent.

LG Electronics resides at 94th on the survey but is gaining ground after experiencing 14 per cent brand value growth – the equal largest growth in the consumer electronics sector.

Equal first in the consumer electronics area in terms of growth was Dutch consumer electronics supplier, Philips, which also recorded strong growth of 14 per cent on last year, increasing to 48th spot from 53rd in 2005 – the first time the company has broken into the top 50 places.

In the telecommunications area Nokia, now ranked sixth overall, has regained its leadership position in the mobile telecom industry with growth in both the high and low ends of the market.

“Nokia’s scale has always made it competitive in the rapidly growing low priced segment, but a resurgence in design and a concentration on desirable features has meant that Nokia is now able to maintain its average selling price and reinvigorate its brand image with the high end consumer,” Interbrand said in a statement.

Ranked number 69, Motorola has historically struggled in the high end of the market until the launch of its flagship Razr mobile phone, which helped the brand to 18 per cent growth in brand value to maintain its number two position in the category.

Down 12 per cent in the survey this year, Kodak, ranked 70th overall has been very proactive in its strides to catch up with the digital world, however the survey suggests competition is fierce in the digital arena and profitability is thin compared to Kodak’s film business and as a result the brand’s value continues to decline.

In the personal care space, Gillette has been a top performer growing 12 per cent in brand value and leading its category ranked 16th.

A concern for electrical retailers is the overall growth of Internet commerce, with consumers’ increasing acceptance of purchas¬ing goods and services online enabling eBay ranked 47th to skyrocket in value up 18 per cent – the equal third highest gainer in the survey this year.

The top gainer overall with a brand value increase of 46 per cent was Google now ranked 24th.
The number one company in the survey is Coca Cola, beating out Microsoft at number two and IBM at number three.

“In the majority of cases, those who made the ranking are proactively managing their businesses through a brand lens. They have recognised that their brand should be the central organising principle given the incredible value they represent,” said Interbrand CEO, Jez Frampton.