The branding company Interbrand and the BusinessWeek magazine have teamed up again to rank the world's leading super brands. The best brands in 2006 are a lot like the ones featured on the list in 2005, except for some jostling from long established companies and just a few new comers finding themselves on the elite 100 list. The United Kingdom based exclusive clothing and apparel company Burberry and the Japanese based car manufacturer Lexus (owned by Toyota) are the only new kids on the block, with the former taking 98th position and the latter rocketing straight up to 92nd position.

At the top of the best one hundred brands there is very little change from last year. There are no changes at all until 7th position, with Toyota moving from 9th last year to 7th this year.

The top 6 are long established brands with a global reach and marketing strategy that has been difficult to challenge. The fizzy drinks maker Coca-Cola has clung to the title of the best brand in the world with it's ever present marketing campaign and a range of innovative new products. The remaining top 6 brands include Microsoft (2), IBM (3), General Electric GE (4), Intel (5), and the phone manufacturer from Finland, Nokia reclaiming position 6.

Interbrand ranks each brand by calculating the net present value of the earnings the brand is expected to generate from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006. More than one third of the brand's earnings must be derived from countries other than where they are based and they must have earnings of at least $2.7 billion before they are even considered. Their marketing and financial data must also be publicly available and they must be recognized by people outside of their customer base.

This is the 6th annual brands list that Interbrand has put together in association with BusinessWeek. Notable winners for 2006 include the Internet giant Google with a 46% increase in brand value, Starbucks with 20%, eBay with 18%, and Motorola with an 10% increase in value. While the biggest losers list included Gap with a drop of 12 places and a 22% decline, Ford with 16%, Kodak with 12%, and Heinz with a 10% decline in brand value.

CEO of Interbrand, Jez Frampton said "In the majority of cases, those who made the ranking are proactively managing their businesses through a brand lens. They have recognized that their brand should be the central organizing principle given the incredible value they represent. The need to measure and manage brand performance continues to be a critical priority for senior management as evidenced by the incredible interest shown in this ranking.”


See below for a listing of the top ten global brands according to Interbrand and the BusinessWeek magazine..

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