Date: 04-22-2008
Google has been named the most valuable brand in the world for the second time running by Millward Brown, a research firm focused on brands, media, and communications. The global research leader announced its third annual ''BrandZ Top 100 Most Powerful Brands'' rankings, wherein General Electric (GE) and Microsoft were listed at the second the third positions, respectively. Coca-Cola and China Mobile took up the fourth and fifth places. Google's brand was valued at a staggering $86.1 billion, while GE followed with $71.4 billion, and the Microsoft brand was valued at $70.8 billion. Vodafone was named the most powerful British brand, ranking 11th globally and beating out Tesco and HSBC. Joanna Seddon, CEO of Millward Brown Optimor, said that ''Our data shows that strong brands continue to outperform weak ones in terms of market share and share price during recessions.'' The 2008 rankings are based on consumer opinion analyses and financial data on the companies for the period from January to December of 2007.
