Tech companies took nine of the top 10 spots on the Brand Finance Global 500, an annual study by brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance of the most powerful and most valuable brands in the world.
It was a near sweep for the U.S. as nine of the top 10 most valuable brands are headquartered in America. Only South Korea's Samsung broke into this circle.
While the top four spots were unchanged, there was one change in the top 10 of a storied brand - Coca Cola dropped from ninth place to the 12th spot in the list.
It's a different story, however, with regard to brand power. The most powerful brand in the world belongs to Italian luxury carmaker Ferrari.
“The prancing horse on a yellow badge is instantly recognizable the world over, even where paved roads have yet to reach. In its home country and among its many admirers worldwide Ferrari inspires more than just brand loyalty, more of a cultish, even quasi-religious devotion, its brand power is indisputable," Brand Finance Chief Executive David Haigh stated.
Though Ferrari is the world’s most powerful brand, Brand Value puts its actual brand value at $4 billion, 350th in brand value terms.
How does Brand Finance calculate brand value? The company use the Royalty Relief methodology which "determines the value a company would be willing to pay to license its brand as if it did not own it." To do this, Brand Value estimates the future revenue attributable to a brand and calculates a royalty rate that would be charged for the use of the brand.
