Apple is once again world’s most valuable brand, says Kantar

Apple, with a brand value of $947.1bn, is the world’s most valuable brand and is on track to become the first 1-trillion dollar brand, according to the Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands 2022 ranking.

Google, one of the fastest risers in the ranking, moves up to second place this year, increasing its brand value by 79% to $819.6bn.

The combined value of the world’s top 100 most valuable brands increased by 23% to $8.7-trillion over the past year, highlighting the importance of brand strength in navigating an unsettled global economy. In total, 37 brands improved their ranking this year.

Kantar BrandZ top 10 most valuable global brands 2022

Category leaders come from a mix of industries and sectors. According to this year’s ranking, technology and luxury brands grew the fastest (46% for consumer technology and 45% for luxury) followed by automotive brands (34%) and banks (+30%).

Category leaders: Kantar BrandZ most valuable global brands 2022

*In Retail, the value of Amazon includes its retail businesses only; for Media & Entertainment, Google includes Google branded services and products, excluding Google Cloud.

With a brand value of $124.3bn, Louis Vuitton is the first luxury brand to reach the global top 10, reflecting the growth of the luxury market worldwide and in China in particular. Louis Vuitton experienced 64% growth in brand value this year.

Tesla is one of this year’s biggest success stories, shifting to no 29 from no 47, mirroring the world-wide growth in sales of electric vehicles.

In 2022, over 75% of brand value originated from US companies. Media & Entertainment, Business Solutions & Technology Providers and Retail categories account for over half the total value of the top 100 ranking. Chinese brands held strong in this year’s ranking, despite facing unique pandemic challenges, being placed twice in the global top 10, with Tencent at no 5 and Alibaba at no 9. China is also the only market rivalling the US’s dominance in the Media & Entertainment category, with WeChat at no 5 and TikTok at no 9.

Martin Guerrieria, head of Kantar BrandZ, says: “Strong brand affinity underpins a customer’s willingness to pay and has never been more important for organisations looking to offset spiking inflation. This year’s results show us the value of continued investment in brand and marketing capabilities as a means of maximising business returns, irrespective of market conditions.”

To navigate a disruptive market, he says, brands need to lock down trust as a means of driving stability and safety. “More than in the past, brands today must build trust on the basis of societal performance, not just product performance. Sometimes this means a social purpose that is integrated into the entire organisation. Nike is a good example, with its ongoing commitment to inspire and innovate for everyone, particularly girls and minority communities, and not just high-performance athletes.”

Guerrieria adds that the pandemic has further accelerated growth of e-commerce in the retail category, which is why brands with stronger connections to consumers were able to sustain their growth online and beyond.

“Portfolio brands that continue to innovate and diversify their offer continue to grow. This is particularly evident with Apple, Google and Amazon, among others, as their services cross technology, entertainment and payment services,” Guerrieria says.

He says brands that are reliant on one category or market have the greatest risk profile, whereas brands that have diversified into multiple categories and markets showed faster brand value growth in 2022 and have a better chance of above-average growth.

The Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands 2022 ranking and report are available at www.kantar.com/campaigns/brandz/global