After thirteen comfortable years relaxing upon it’s hill-top castle, Coca Cola has been replaced as the most valuable brand in the world. In a recent report by Interbrand Corp, Apple’s brand value has risen by 28% to an incredible $98.3 billion, leaving Coca Cola’s $79.2 billion in the dust. Interbrand calculates brand value based on “financial performance, role in influencing consumer buying and ability to secure earnings.” Many attribute this climb to Apple’s innovation, prestige and image. Others give credit to Apple’s successful executive management. Either way, Apple has become a giant and obvious leader in the tech industry; an industry filled with much turmoil as once leading market shareholders, such as Nokia, are acquired by larger companies such as Microsoft.
The tech industry is becoming more and more characterized by it’s volatile nature and increasing difficulty for companies to define a true point of difference. Of the top five fastest rising companies, four are tech-based. This, among other things, shows that tech companies are becoming the most relevant companies in our lives. This is because they not only have developed distinctive points of difference, for Apple their “sophisticated simplicity”, for their customers and employees, but are willing and able to adapt with the ever-so-changing consumer preferences. Not only do tech companies focus on their consumers, but they create a creative and supportive workplace environment. Both Google and Apple have adopted campus-like headquarters that provide employees with a multitude of benefits including catered lunches, dry-cleaning, transportation, etc. This increases employee motivation and overall job satisfaction.
All in all, Apple is undoubtedly one the this most successful companies of our time. You can speculate about the various reasonings and inter-workings of a company but when it comes down to it, its all about the people. To conclude, I’ve included a Forbes video discussing Apple’s distinctive points of difference!
Steve Jobs’ Innovation Secrets
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-30/apple-overtakes-coca-cola-as-most-valuable-brand-study-finds.html
It’s fascinating how important it is proving to be for large corporations such as Apple to create a distinctive and supportive work environment. Companies outside of the techonology sector should adopt these principles as well. Clearly it plays a part in the success of Apple, which is now the most valuable brand in the world. I wonder if there was a specific product or company that the company made to acheive this title, or if it was simply “financial performance, role in influencing consumer buying and ability to secure earnings.”