No surprise at the top of the annual ranking (and the study that forms the basis) of Interbrand : on the podium in 2021 of the “Best Global Brands” there are, as in 2020, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft, which for the second consecutive year “undermines” Google, which is in fourth place. The top ten places are occupied 70% by large American groups (and related brands): from the fifth to the sixth there are in fact Samsung (Korea), Coca-Cola, Toyota (Japan), Mercedes-Benz, McDonald’s and Disney. Also for the sectors, the 2021 ranking of the global “best brands” there is no big news: in addition to technology, the most represented are always automotive, food and drink and entertainment (in the image above and below, the chart of the first hundred positions, with the value, in millions of dollars, estimated for the brand and the difference from 2020. Note that the comma, in the United States, is used as we use the period, within multi-digit numbers).
The Italian presence and the race of Prada
The first made in Italy company (founded in Italy exactly one hundred years ago, in 1921, but which is actually owned by the French luxury giant Kering) is Gucci, in 33rd place, with a brand value of 16.6 billion (+ 6% on last year). Then there are Ferrari in 76th place (7 billion in value, + 12%) and Prada, which is in 94th place, with a brand value of 5.4 billion, with a jump of 20% compared to the 2020 ranking. Only Hermès (in 23rd place), not surprisingly a luxury house in turn, had the same growth as Prada. The value of Chanel (22nd place) and Louis Vuitton (13th place), say, grew by 4% and 16% respectively. “The studio again rewards Gucci, Ferrari and Prada among the global Italian brands with the highest economic value because they demonstrated how clarity of vision, ability to change and understanding of consumer needs are crucial to creating value ”, explains Lidi Grimaldi, managing director of the Italian branch of Interbrand. The study covers the period between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 and the analysis was carried out between June and September 2021.
How brand value growth is calculated
No surprises from the podium, we said. But some changes concern the methodology adopted by Interbrand to evaluate the performance of brands after one year. The aspects that led to the highest growth rates – as in the case of Prada – are three: direction, agility e participation. It is useless to translate slavishly from English into Italian, better explain. For direction it means the ability to define a clear strategic direction, making sure that the whole organization knows this direction and works together to achieve the same objectives. For agility we mean the ability to move quickly, presenting new products and services on the market and, where necessary, changing course to respond to the changing needs of consumers. For participation finally, we think about the ability of a brand to give consumers the impression of participating in a shared journey, “Making them part of a movement aimed at creating a more engaging world“, in the words of Lidi Grimaldi. They may seem too theoretical or even philosophical speeches, but it is precisely on “intangible” values that the value of a brand is based, as we all know consumers. Purchasing choices are not only influenced by the “technical” specifications of a product, but by the emotions it arouses. A mechanism that is particularly evident in fashion and – more generally – in high-end consumption.
A new approach, that of the competitive arena
Among the novelties of 2021, there is a change of approach in trying to “classify” brands within a sector. «We have decided that it is better to talk about a“ competitive arena ”, which we consider a new approach to reading and facing the competition – explains Lidi Grimaldi -. Our studies have shown that the categorization of brands into conventional “sectors” is out of date. With the arena, attention shifts to the needs of individuals and how to satisfy them, overcoming the conventional approach based exclusively on similar products and services. The Arena represents an extensive competition space in which numerous players compete on common objectives: economic return, time and consumer attention. More specifically: an arena is a quantity of resources, money, time, space, attention and emotions that brands operating in different fields compete for ».
For luxury, a further distinction can be made, given the specificity of the choices that consumers make when purchasing high-end products: “We called Arena Express the one that includes some luxury brands present in the ranking, such as Prada. This arena responds to the need to define oneself as individuals, through objects of desire ”, underlines the managing director of the Italian branch of Interbrand.
The basic methodology
However, the value itself – that expressed in millions of dollars – is calculated by Interbrand according to a methodology perfected in over 30 years of work: the Best Global Brands ranking is an integral part of Interbrand’s 22nd annual study, entitled this year The Decade of Possibility. Interbrand has the primacy of designing and carrying out the first brand valuation in the world, made in 1988. Interbrand was also the first company whose brand valuation methodology was certified in accordance with the ISO 10668 standard (requirements for the monetary valuation of brand) and played a key role in the development of this standard. Interbrand’s Brand Valuation methodology takes three factors into consideration: the financial performance of the products or services distinguished by the brand; the role played by the brand in the purchasing process, the competitive strength of the brand and its ability to create loyalty and sustain demand and margins in the long term.