Apple Tops Best Brand List; Other Top Manufacturers Fill Out Top 10

According to a recent BrandZ study by global brand agency Millward Brown, Apple is the top brand in the world -- the Cupertino-based tech innovation heavyweight has a brand value worth nearly half its market capitalization.

Sources cite the "increasing presence of its gadgets in corporate environments" as a major factor allowing Apple to "behave differently from other consumer-electronics makers."

In fact, Peter Walshe, global brands director of Millward Brown, says that "Apple is breaking the rules ... It's doing what luxury brands do, where the higher price the brand is, the more it seems to underpin and reinforce the desire."

The other manufacturers rounding out the top 10 list include Coca-Cola, Marlboro and GE. Toyota reclaimed its spot as the top automotive brand, despite recall snafus (the massive disruption of the automotive supply chain from the recent earthquake happened post-study).

Of course, one might wonder why we're paying attention to a branding study done by a firm that named said study "BrandZ".