Google Now the World's Most Valuable Brand - Analyst Blog

The annual study commissioned by British advertising and public relations company WPP and carried out by Millward Brown Optimor indicates that Google (GOOGL) has overtaken Apple AAPL as the world's most valuable brand.

Google's year of innovation included Google Glass, investments in artificial intelligence and broader application of Android across new platforms like automobiles. Apple has been doing its bit, but stronger expectations surrounding the iPhone maker led to a decline in its perceived value.

The last few years have seen Apple revolutionizing the way people listen to music (iPod), the way they communicate (iPhone) and the way they compute and consume digital content (iPad). This led to expectations that it would also be the first to announce the next big thing in technology.

This is where Google beat it to the punch with Glass. No one really knows how successful Glass will be and the device has been pretty controversial so far. But just the fact that Google was able to announce it helped build its image as an innovator.

Announcing an unfinished product is not really Apple's style. So while the company has taken patents and made acquisitions that indicate it is developing wearable technology of its own, its efforts have not made the news as much. Apple needed to announce wearable technology first in order to stay ahead.  

But the ultimate impact of brands to investors is their ability to translate to revenue and profits. And this is an area where Apple has excelled. All its major innovations have been successful and revenue growth remains strong despite market share losses.

Google's Android OS is everywhere, but the company isn't really a devices name yet. This year could see some changes if Glass takes off as promised because Glass seems to have played a major role in Google's capturing mind share.  

Strong brands overall have played a role in the economic recovery, with a majority of them remaining in the top 100 post the recession. Some technology companies, such as Tencent and Facebook FB saw phenomenal growth over the past year, with others like Twitter TWTR and LinkedIn breaking into the top 100 for the first time. The top four brands were in technology and technology accounted for 29% of the top 100 brand value.

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