NEW YORK — World Brand Lab today released the 2018 edition of its World’s 500 Most Influential Brands list (abbreviated below as 2018 World’s 500 Brands List). Amazon, last year’s runner-up, beat out Google and Apple for the top spot.
The list, published annually since 2004, tracks three key indicators: market share, brand loyalty, and global leadership. Combined, they offer a proven measure of each brand’s ability to establish market presence, capture market share, and generate profit. World Brand Lab launched the list after refining its methodology against data covering more than 20,000 brands worldwide.
Amazon’s significant progress in artificial intelligence and big-data technology helped its third-quarter operating profit hit a 10-year high. Google, the second-place finisher, continued to win accolades for advanced technology, including its research on autonomous vehicles. Apple fell to third place.
Brands from Europe and the US held firm through a turbulent year. US-based brands accounted for 223 entries, down 10 from last year, while second- and third-place finishers France and the UK placed 43 and 42, respectively, each adding three brands in 2018. China, the world’s second-largest economy by GDP, was represented by 38 brands, up one from last year.
The automotive and media sectors placed the most brands on the list, while the food and beverage industry slid to third. The Internet sector pulled ahead of energy, placing 25 brands on the list while energy dropped to 23. 32 brands are new to the list in 2018, down from 38 a year ago. 12-year-old Spotify and 22-year-old Booking.com have made their way quickly to the list, while GlaxoSmithKline traces its roots to an apothecary opened in 1715.
World Brand Lab, the world’s leading brand-consulting and -research firm, is chaired by Professor Robert Mundell, 1999’s Nobel laureate in economics. As a wholly owned subsidiary of the strategy-consulting company World Executive Group, World Brand Lab has tracked more than 20,000 major brands in 50 countries since 2003 and maintains a comprehensive global brand database. World Brand Lab’s research is used by companies worldwide to establish M&A valuation. Its annual list of the world’s 500 most influential brands is formally introduced at the annual World Executive Conference.
SOURCE World Brand Lab
