3

141 Pages·2016·48.55 MB·English

Brand value increases
to $3.4 trillion, despite
disruptive global forces

GOING
GLOBAL?
BrandZ™ Top 100 Most
Valuable Chinese Brands 2016
We wrote the book
The report profiles Chinese brands,
outlines major trends driving brand
growth and includes commentary
on the growing influence of Chinese
brands at home and abroad.
BrandZ™ country reports:
Essential travel guides for
NEW
global brand building
Our BrandZ™ country reports contain unparalleled market
knowledge, insights, and thought leadership about the
world’s most exciting markets.
You’ll find, in one place, the wisdom of WPP brand building
experts from all regions, plus the unique consumer insights
derived from our proprietary BrandZ™ database.
If you’re planning to expand internationally, BrandZ™
country reports are as essential as a passport.
BrandZ™ Top 50 Most BrandZ™ Top 50 BrandZ™ Top 50 Spotlight on Myanmar
Valuable Indian Brands 2015 Most Valuable Indonesian Most Valuable Latin
Brands 2015 American Brands 2015 The story of Myanmar is one
This ground-breaking study of huge potential, as a new
analyzes the success of Indian This study analyzes the The report profiles the most era of openness signals strong
brands across 13 categories, success of Indonesian brands, valuable brands of Argentina, growth opportunity. Now is
examines the dynamics examining the dynamics Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico the time for brands to make
reshaping the Indian market shaping this fast-emerging and Peru and explores the an impression in this emergent
and offers insights for building market and offering insights socio-economic context for economy.
valuable brands. for building valuable brands. brand growth in the region.
BEIJING - CHINA
Value of all For more information about the BrandZ™
Chinese brands in library of country reports, please turn to the To download any of these reports, and to view related videos,
Global Top 100 Resources section at the end of this report, or please visit www.brandz.com/Reports. To download iPhone
contact David Roth at [email protected]. or Android apps, please visit www.brandz.com/Mobile.
$212.2 Billion
Photograph by Paul Reiffer
CONTENTS
06

The Categories
CONSUMER AND RETAIL
05 140 Apparel
146 Cars
152 Luxury
03
158 Personal Care
Regions and 164 Retail

Countries
170 Thought Leadership:
The Future
“Frictionless Experience”
of Brands 90 Overview by Dan Whitmarsh, Global Head of
94 Brazil Planning for Volkswagen Group, MediaCom
Welcome 98 Thought Leadership:
8 52 Overview 172 Thought Leadership:
“Local Brands”
David Roth, CEO, 56 A crystal ball “Omni-Channel”
The Store WPP, EMEA & Asia conversation Banyd L Beteiacitari zA Prsolartnaias,n S, tGraetneegraicl PMlaannangeer,r by John Rand, Senior Vice President,
04 Market Insights, Kantar Retail
02 Geometry Global
01 62 Thought Leadership:
FOOD AND DRINK
“Digital” 102 China 174 Beer 07
by Patrick Xu, CEO China, 106 Thought Leadership:
GroupM Business-to- “China” 180 Fast Food
Introduction The Global by Stephen Drummond, Chairman and 186 Soft Drinks
64 Thought Leadership: Business Chief Strategy Officer, Y&R China
Top 100
“Digital Behavior 110 BrandZ™ China Resources 192 Thought Leadership: Resources
12 Overview Analytics” 70 Overview “Cultural Insight”
15 BrandZ™ Stock 30 The BrandZ™ Global by Sarah Walker, Global 74 Brand Building 112 India by Laura Tarbox, Strategic Director, 250 BrandZ™ Valuation
Portfolio Top 100 Ranking Lead, Digital Behavior 116 Thought Leadership: Cultural Insight, Added Value
78 Talent Methodology
16 Cross-Category Trends Analytics, and Peter Walshe, “India”
20 Takeaways 34 BTorapn 2d0Z R™ iRseerssults GMliollwbaalr Bd rBarnodws nDirector, 82 Thought Leadership: bPyla Anndiintyga, CKoilnptardayc,t SInedniiaor Vice President, 194 FBIaNnAksN –C GIAloLb al 253 BiPraadn dMZa™g aRzeinpeorts, Apps and
22 T“Dhoadugdhittu Ldeea”d ership: 3398 NCaetwecgoomrye Crshanges bG“yTlo aCblhaerli nGsttoin”-Ta o J-eMnakrinkes,t Director, 112224 RThuossuigaht Leadership: 129082 BInasnukras n–c Reegional 222755286 WWWPPPPPP CRCeoosmmoppuaarcnneyys CBroanntdri b utors
by Nihar Das, Global P&G 40 Brand Contribution Research
Business Leader, MediaCom 42 BrandZ™ Analysis and Emily Friedman, Senior “Russia” 208 Thought Leadership: Building Experts
Research Consultant, by Pierre-Emmanuel Mahias, “Service Experience” 276 BrandZ™ Global Top 100 Team
24 Thought Leadership: LinkedIn Director of Strategy Mindshare by Tim Greenhalgh, Chairman and Chief
44 Thought Leadership: GroupM
“Generation Z” Creative Officer, FITCH
“Disruption” 84 Thought Leadership:
bCyo nVsiuctltoarniat ,S Vaekraml,e er by Emilie Hamer, Senior Vice “Talent” 126 Indonesia COMMODITIES
President, Global, GTB by Emily Smith, Brand 212 Oil & Gas
132 Thought Leadership:
Director, Added Value
46 Thought Leadership: “Outlook Middle East, Africa”
“Brand Building” 86 Thought Leadership: by Richard Mullins, Director, Acceleration 218 Thought Leadership:
by Renato Duo, Planning “Internet of Things” “Brand Behavior”
Manager, J. Walter Thompson by Jarrod Ramsey, Vice 134 Thought Leadership: by James Whatley, Digital Director,
President, Mobile Technology, “Outlook Asia” Ogilvy & Mather
48 Thought Leadership: Rockfish by Doreen Wang, Global Head of
“Brand Experience” BrandZ™, Millward Brown TECHNOLOGY
by Iain Ellwood, Worldwide 220 Technology – Consumer
Strategic Growth Director, 136 Thought Leadership: 224 Technology – Business
Brand Union & Group XP and “Transformation” 230 Telecom Providers
Martin Guerrieria, Global by Mel Edwards, CEO, Wunderman EMEA
BrandZ™ Research Director,
Millward Brown 238 Thought Leadership:
“Privacy”
by Lennart Håkansson, Executive Vice
President, Cohn & Wolfe Sweden
242 Thought Leadership:
“Mobile Mentions”
by Peter Walshe, Global Brands Director,
Millward Brown and Guy Rolfe,
Mobile Practice Leader, Kantar 7
6 246 Thought Leadership:
“Cultural Insight”
by Nihar Das, Global P&G Business
Leader and Pinaki Dutt,
Global Head of Connected Applied
Intelligence, MediaCom
BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2016
WELCOME
Brand value rises steadily, Brands do not need a higher purpose, brands are competing effectively for Using the BrandZ™ brand valuation
but they do need to be seen as doing these customers by leveraging the methodology of Millward Brown, a
more than just making money; they perception that local brands can better WPP company, we analyze relevant
need to be seen as improving the life understand and fulfill local market corporate financial data and strip away
133% over past 11 years of the consumer in some way. This is needs. everything that doesn’t pertain to the
especially relevant when appealing branded business. Then we take a
to millennials and when competing Serving you with critical step that makes BrandZ™ unique
in fast-growing markets where and definitive among brand valuation
our expertise
consumers expect brands to act as methodologies.
partners in their quest to achieve the
good life. All of these challenges and We conduct ongoing, in-depth
Reaches $3.4 trillion despite disruptive forces opportunities require unrivaled quantitative research with more
Purpose needs to be clearly expressed global expertise in the art and than 200,000 consumers annually,
in the brand experience, which science of building and sustaining across more than 50 markets, to
remains one of the most powerful valuable brands. That’s where we assess consumer attitudes about,
differentiators. On a recent trip to come in. Almost 200 brand experts and relationships with, over 100,000
The value of the BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands New York, I visited the new flagship from around 50 WPP companies brands. Our database includes
has increased steadily over the past 11 years, rising 133 percent store of one of the BrandZ™ Top 100 contributed to this report. They information from over two million
between 2006 and 2016, despite fluctuations during and Global brands. It was disappointing. participated in over 25 focus groups consumers. It reveals the power of the
Unfortunately, the brand experience that delved into the dynamics shaping brand in the mind of the consumer
immediately after the global financial crisis.
of the store did not match the quality the 14 product and service categories that creates predisposition to buy
and excitement of the brand’s we cover in the report. By linking all and, most importantly, validates a
products. The store lacked buzz. The this talent, creativity, and wisdom, positive correlation with better sales
This pattern of reliable growth, and sustaining strong and valuable
brand lost an opportunity. we amplify global trends and insights performance.
modulated by global economic and brands – Brand Purpose and Brand
that help our clients in useful and
geopolitical forces, continued with 2016 Experience.
And on the subject of opportunity... unique ways. We call this powerful At WPP, we’re passionate about using
BrandZ™ Global Top 100, which rose 3
We took our first in-depth look at B2B perspective “horizontality.” our creativity to create and build strong,
percent in brand value in a year marked Before I do that, however, it is worth
brand leaders this year, leveraging differentiated brands that deliver
by a historic plummet in oil prices and restating that brand value growth is
our BrandZ™ research with market Our unrivaled expertise includes the lasting shareholder value. To learn more
slower economic growth in Brazil and important for two key reasons. First,
knowledge from LinkedIn. You will find BrandZ™ resource library, which we about how to apply our experience and
Russia, and even China, where GDP brand value correlates with business
David Roth extensive details in a new B2B section invite you to access. Along with the expertise to benefit your brand, please
expansion slackened relative to the success; brands with high value are
CEO of the report. Here’s the topline: B2B BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global contact any of the WPP companies that
robust rates of a few years ago. more likely to increase sales and market
The Store WPP, EMEA & Asia brands score well above average Brands, the library includes these titles: contributed expertise to this report.
share going forward. Second, brand
in all aspects of Brand Potential, a the BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Turn to the resource section at the end
These factors especially impacted the value correlates with high shareholder
BrandZ™ metric that predicts future Chinese Brands; the BrandZ™ Top of this report for summaries of each
oil and gas, and the banks categories. returns. Companies that invest in
brand success. But they have a large 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands; the company and the contact details of key
Absent those categories, the BrandZ™ brands grow their topline faster.
opportunity to reach the Brand BrandZ™ Top 50 Most Valuable Latin executives. Or feel free to contact me
Global Top 100 improved around Organic topline growth is the biggest
Potential levels of business-to- American Brands; the BrandZ™ Top directly.
6 percent. We studied the results determinant of total shareholders
consumer brands. 50 Most Valuable Indonesian Brands;
closely to gain insight into what gives return. (Please see the BrandZ™ Stock
and Spotlight on Myanmar – The Sincerely,
brands their resilience and ability to Portfolio story in the Introduction.)
Our research revealed another “Leapfrog” Nation. To download these
steadily improve regardless of market
important opportunity, actually more and other BrandZ™ reports, please visit
conditions. Purpose and Experience of a challenge, for multinationals. www.brandz.com.
Competition from local brands
Answers are contained in this report,
The importance of purpose is evident in is increasing across fast-growing The backbone of all this intelligence
which is filled with the original research,
our BrandZ™ Top 20 Risers. This ranking markets because of several factors: remains the WPP proprietary BrandZ™, David Roth
thought leadership commentary,
of brands that grew the most in value (1) local brands have gotten better the world’s largest, customer-focused [email protected]
insights and prescriptive advice from
includes brands as diverse as Amazon, over time; (2) as the economies slow, source of brand equity knowledge Twitter: davidrothlondon
WPP company experts from around the Starbucks, JD.com, The Home Depot, consumers are searching harder for and insight. It is big data at its biggest, Blog: www.davidroth.com
globe. I will briefly expand on just two
Domino’s Pizza and Chanel. These value-for-money options; and (3) local with 4.5 billion individual data points. 9
of the many factors critical for building
are very different brands that share in
8 common clarity of purpose.
BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2016
Introduction
Introduction > OVERVIEW
1 Introduction
OVERVIEW
Brand value rises and gas brands continued to shift focus
from oil to gas, expecting that over
BrandZ™ Global Top 100 grew 133% since 2006
time, gas and other cleaner energy
alternatives will power the world’s
The BrandZ™ Global Top 100 grew steadily over the past 11 years to $3.4 trillion,
3 percent in year economies. With more acquisitions of
never losing value, even during the global recession, and leveling only once, in 2011.
content services, the major telecom
providers continued to evolve from
BrandZ™ Global Top 100 value growth 2006 to 2016 commodity carriers of voice and data to
marked by disruption entertainment and content brands.
3%
14%
$3 12% More competition
Tril. 7%
0%
17%
1% 4%
21% Across many FMCG categories,
$2
Results reveal prescriptions for future brand value growth Tril. 11% multinational brands contended with
increased competition, including the rise
of craft products, as some consumers,
$1
Tril. particularly millennials, preferred brands
In a year marked by disruption, Six of the 14 categories included in Although the BrandZ™ Global Top
whose provenance or limited scale
the value of the 2016 BrandZ™ the 2016 ranking declined in value 100 increased in value more modestly implied authenticity. More significantly,
compared with only two last year. One than in any year since 2011, when the
Top 100 Most Valuable Global 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 several phenomena converged to
category remained flat. Of the seven economy was climbing back from
Brands increased 3 percent, to increase competition in fast-growing
categories that increased in value, only recession, the results continue to show
country markets. Consumers had
$3.4 trillion. two grew by more than 10 percent. the steady appreciation of Top 100
become more sophisticated, and local
Source: BrandZ™ / Millward Brown
value, up 133 percent over the past 11
products had improved in quality.
• Apparel rose 14 percent after a flat years.
The economic and geopolitical factors intensifying competition from start-
performance a year ago, followed by
especially impacted the oil and gas up financial technology companies. The rise of local brands, which expanded
fast food, which increased 11 percent Combination of factors
category, which declined 20 percent The startups especially attracted choice, was especially pertinent as
in value, on top of a 4 percent
in value, and the banks category, with millennials, a customer group that both growth slowed in Brazil, China and
improvement last year.
A combination of economic and global banks and regional banks down bank and insurance brands attempted Russia, and consumers sought to save
geopolitical factors influenced this in brand value 11 percent and 12 percent, to cultivate for future growth. Both money. But it was also relevant in India,
• With a value increase of 59 percent,
year’s results, including the precipitous respectively. Three other categories in bank and insurance brands improved where consumers expressed a growing
Amazon led all brands in value
drop in the price of crude oil and the the BrandZ™ Global Top 100 declined in customer service and introduced more belief that local brands could better
growth, followed by Starbucks (49
economic slowdowns in Brazil, China value, but only moderately. technological innovation. appreciate the nuances of diverse
percent) and Facebook (44 percent).
and Russia. The sanctions against cultures and tastes.
Russia that resulted from its invasion of Disruption across Social trends motivated car brands
• Two newcomers to the BrandZ™
Ukraine also hurt the Russian economy. to reconsider the identity of the cars These disruptive forces did not
Global Top 100 also grew categories
And the removal of sanctions against category. Although many car brands happen in a vacuum, but rather they
substantially in value: JD.com, China’s
Iran following the nuclear weapons experienced a relatively strong sales appeared in the larger context of a year
second-largest e-commerce brand
accord impacted oil prices when Iran While disruption afflicted some year, they worried about a future characterized by global geopolitical
rose 37 percent, and the business-to-
began adding to the global oversupply. categories more than others, no in which consumers would be less disruption. Populist dissatisfaction
business technology brand Adobe
category was immune. Consumer dependent on cars. Precipitating drove the rise of unconventional
increased 41 percent.
Beyond these factors, issues related concern about healthy ingredients factors include greater urbanization US presidential candidates in both
to technology and social values, often continued to impact fast food, personal and a millennial-driven shift in societal major political parties. The British
• North America continued to drive the
influenced by the millennial generation, care and soft drinks. But personal care priorities from ownership to sharing. public pondered whether to leave
largest proportion of brand value,
impacted brand value change. Among and soft drinks grew slightly in value, Most major car brands introduced the European Union, formed to help
about 69 percent, followed by Asia.
the issues were a heightened attention and the strong value increases of programs that anticipated a time heal the divisions of World War II and
The North America Top 10 brands
to data protection and privacy Starbucks, Domino’s Pizza and Burger when car manufacturers would also be promote trade interdependence. And
increased 10 percent in value, while
and continued consumer concern King drove fast food value growth. mobility service providers. ancient religious and tribal forces in the
the Asia Top 10 declined 8 percent.
about personal health, product Middle East erased the borders that 3
ingredients, ethical brand behavior and Persistent regulatory infractions The prospect of category were created with the dissolution of the 1
2 environmental protection. hurt bank reputations. And, along transformation also affected telecom Ottoman Empire after World War I. >>
1
with insurance brands, banks faced providers and oil and gas brands. Oil
BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2016
Introduction > OVERVIEW
1 Introduction
OVERVIEW Valuable brands
deliver superior
Lessons for the future shareholder returns
The practices of brands that performed especially
well in this period of disruption yield useful lessons:
BrandZ™ Portfolio outperforms the S&P 500 Index and the MSCI
1 They disrupted before being disrupted.
The three fastest-rising brands – Amazon, Starbucks and Facebook – each
came into being as a category disruptor, and they continued to disrupt, often
with the use of technology. Amazon, for example, introduced Amazon Dash,
BrandZ™ Strong Brands Portfolio vs. S&P 500 vs. MSCI World Index
the first iteration of a program that reaches the consumer at the exact moment
of need, anticipating the world of automatic replenishment promised by the 105.9%
Internet of Things.
BrandZ™ Strong Brands Portfolio
S&P 500
MSCI
2 They excelled in digital and social media.

60.7%
JD.com benefitted from its strategic partnership with Tencent, China’s giant
Internet portal. Because JD.com is present on WeChat, Tencent’s ubiquitous
messaging service, users can move easily between texting, e-commerce
purchasing and payment without changing platforms.
20.1%
3 They expressed a clear and consistent brand
purpose.

It is possible to have a higher purpose about improving life for humanity, or
a narrower purpose about improving life for the consumer. But the purpose April 2007 April 2008 April 2009 April 2010 April 2011 April 2012 April 2013 April 2014 April 2015 April 2016
needs to be genuine, clearly articulated and consistently executed. Google,
which articulates its mission of helping humanity, increased 32 percent in brand
Source: BrandZ™ / Millward Brown
value. The Home Depot, which focuses on serving the home improvement The BrandZ™ Strong Brands Portfolio is a subset of the BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands.
needs of consumers and small businesses, also improved 32 percent.
The value of the BrandZ™ Strong affirms that valuable brands deliver BrandZ™ Strong Brand Portfolio would
The key conclusions drawn from these results are: First, brands that do not
Brands Portfolio increased 105.9 superior returns over time and have more than doubled in value, to
proactively build and protect value can anticipate more disruption; second, the
percent between April 2007 and April regardless of market disruptions. It also $206.
counterpoint, disruption, is the precursor of extraordinary possibilities for brands. In
2016, outperforming both the S&P 500, demonstrates the positive return on
the world of the Internet of Things, for example, brands will compete to be on the
which grew 60.7 percent, and the MSCI money invested to build meaningfully Key takeaways for brand owners and
consumers’ list of items for automatic replenishment, and brands will also compete
World Index, which grew 20.1 percent. different and salient brands. brand marketers are: companies that
to be on the consumers’ list for more considered purchases that may command a
(The MSCI World Index is a weighted invest in building valuable brands grow
premium.
index of global stocks.) In concrete terms, $100 invested in their toplines faster; and organic topline
2006 would be worth $120 today based growth is the greatest determinant of
Brands that imagine the future and respond early to the questions it raises have the
The exceptional performance of the on the MSCI World Index growth rate, total shareholder return.
best chance of sustained success. In that sense, the 2016 BrandZ™ Global Top 100
BrandZ™ Strong Brands Portfolio and $161 based on the S&P 500 growth
Most Valuable Brands report provides even more helpful knowledge and insight for
relative to two well-regarded indexes rate. But that $100 invested in the 5
brand building than some of the editions produced in years with bluer skies. 1
4
1
BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2016
Introduction > CROSS-CATEGORY TRENDS
1 Introduction
CROSS-CATEGORY TRENDS
2 Most brands seek to recruit and retain youthful energetic
talent. But there is a disconnect between the values some
young people bring to the workplace and the perceptions
they have of certain categories. In general, young people
want to work in an organization devoted to making the
world a better place, or at least one that does minimal harm.
Disruptive forces Categories with reputational baggage
are at a disadvantage. Young people
TALENT
are drawn to technology brands. But
even in technology, the brands most
challenge brands perceived to stand for innovation and Youthful job applicants
higher purpose have the greatest
seek purposeful brands
employment appeal.
and old assumptions Brands are responding to this
challenge. Citi introduced several options to better match the
needs of young people seeking to balance career with social
action priorities. Some insurance brands are expanding into
human-resource consultancy work because human capital
Millennial attitudes felt across most categories is at the heart of so many twenty-first-century businesses.
Meanwhile, the competition for talent is occurring not just
among categories or companies, but also among countries.
Some of China’s technology leaders are setting up innovation
centers in places like Silicon Valley and New York in an
attempt to recruit talented millennial technologists.
1 As mobile and e-commerce make transactions quicker and easier, consumers spend
less time interacting with brands, and switching among brands is not a problem.
In this context, brand experience is critical to the brand-customer relationship. In
retail, the physical space becomes an opportunity to more fully express the brand;
because consumers spend so much shopping time online, they increasingly expect a
unique experience in physical stores. And because retailers have moved more SKUs
online, more store space is available to showcase brands and engage customers with
retail theater. In a similar way, banks are reducing their branch networks while also
transforming locations into centers for the consultative, high-touch interaction needed
to sell more complicated products. 3 Local brands are emerging as challengers in Brazil and
Russia as the economies slow and consumers seek less
Car dealerships persist, sometimes despite the experiences expensive options. A similar phenomenon is happening
BRAND they provide, with customer satisfaction levels higher when they in both China and India, where the economies continue
are being courted as shoppers and lower when they are being to grow at a relatively faster pace. Along with the
EXPERIENCE serviced as customers. Dealerships exist for many reasons, desire for less expensive products, several other
including state franchise laws in the US, and the benefits derived factors drive this trend, which is especially evident
by manufacturers, who can achieve sales quotas by shifting in FMCG categories. First, local brands have gotten
Across categories, experience inventory to dealerships. As the car industry evolves, and mobility better in quality and marketing, in part because they
is a key brand differentiator services become part of what car brands offer, the role of have learned from multinational
dealerships in providing customer experience may change. competitors. Second, consumers
LOCAL BRANDS
increasingly prefer local brands
In the luxury category, even for wealthy consumers who can afford multiple items, the for nationalistic or other reasons.
purchase motivation is not so much the badge and the ability to show off wealth, but In India, for example, consumers
Better quality local brands
rather the experience of the brand and the understanding of the care that goes into feel that local brands better
the production and justifies the premium. Connecting with the brand’s heritage adds to challenge multinationals understand and respond to the
the satisfaction of ownership and also signals the consumer’s knowledge and taste. country’s rich diversity. Finally,
consumers in these fast-growing
The term “frictionless experience” now is popular in the marketing lexicon. In the markets also look for brands that act as partners in
developed world, where people feel they have enough stuff, they value less hassle. helping to build the nation. To many consumers, local
Sometimes consumers choose a brand not for what it adds, but rather for what it brands seem more likely to pursue this purpose.
subtracts – stress. Providing frictionless experience means making even mundane 7
1
transactions happen smoothly and without aggravation, as when a desired item can be
6 found with one click online or in a physical store without the aid of map and compass.
1
Today, when most brands are of good quality, and consumers take functionality for
granted, brand experience is the remaining differentiator.
BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2016
Introduction > CROSS-CATEGORY TRENDS
1 Introduction
6 Brands are not abandoning purpose, but in a subtle way some brands seem to be
CROSS-CATEGORY TRENDS
shifting from higher purpose (making the world better), to narrower purpose (making
the customer’s life better). The change may indicate that enough time has passed since
the global financial crisis, and consumers now need less permission to spend money.
During the recession and the post-recession period, luxury brands became more
restrained. Now, brand logos have reappeared, along with bolder fabrics. Luxury is
4 Millennials influenced just about every category focused on the product as well as the more narrow purpose of providing enjoyment.
covered in the BrandZ™ Global Top 100 report.
Some of the less understood but impactful attitudes Coca-Cola exemplified this shift to narrower purpose when it introduced the strapline
pertain to millennial shopping habits. For example, “Taste the Feeling,” which emphasizes the moment of experiencing the product - the
the millennial dad is not the stereotypical errand pleasure and refreshment of drinking a Coke. The product-focused slogan replaced the
boy-man, mindlessly checking off items on his more abstract “Open Happiness.” “Open Happiness” implied that the brand had healing
partner’s shopping list. He is often qualities, like the original formulation of Coca-Cola, and that it could bring people
the shopper and decision maker, MILLENNIALS together – that it could “teach the world to sing.” The revised strapline makes a more
and therefore a person brands modest claim.
need to get to know better. With
the rise of mobile banking, the Different shopping habits Some brands still put higher purpose at the center of their reason
counterintuitive surprise about need new understanding PURPOSE for being. Facebook envisions a world where universal Internet
millennials is that they sometimes access helps people rise from poverty to greater equality and
prefer to bank in the physical opportunity. CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged his personal fortune
world first, establishing trust through a face-to-face Purpose may be grand, to help achieve this goal. Objecting to the conflation of higher
encounter, before transacting online. Millennials pay but it must be genuine purpose and commercial advantage, the Indian government blocked
for goods and services not only with cash, but with Facebook from providing free Internet to people living in rural India.
other currencies, including their time and their data. At the same time, social purpose can be particularly important in
places like India, a country in the midst of economic and social transformation, where
a brand’s commitment to eliminating poverty is more likely to be perceived as genuine
than as a marketing add-on that gives affluent consumers permission to purchase.
5 Categories organize the world of products and The bifurcation of the technology category into Higher purpose seems to work best when it is a natural extension of the brand’s
services with neat borders and boxes, like a business-to-business and business-to-consumer functionality. In the car category, Volvo returned to its emphasis on safety, a genuine
Victorian museum. Because categories present segments is increasingly inaccurate. As sales purpose that helped drive sales. Tesla appeared for the first time in the BrandZ™ Cars
the world as static, they are less useful – even of smartphones, tablets and laptops slow, B2C Top 10 as a brand providing high performance and low carbon impact. Meanwhile,
dangerous and vision-limiting – in a modern world brands are eager to sell more of them to their without actually articulating a higher purpose, telecommunications brands in
that is dynamic, collaborative and interconnected. enterprise customers. Conversely, B2B brands less developed parts of the world, such as the Middle East and Africa, have been
Successful brands respect category borders when seek to introduce more consumer devices into instrumental in building the infrastructure that provides Internet access to inhabitants in
they make sense and ignore them when necessary. the workplace to satisfy the expectations of their the most remote regions, often with the inexpensive smartphones of Chinese or Indian
The borders of many categories are blurring. young employees. Mutual interest has produced brands. Because this technology makes remote diagnosis possible via smartphone, one
partnerships such as those between Apple social benefit of this connectivity is reduced infant mortality.
Most major car brands have introduced car- and IBM, Cisco and SAP. Amazon, the world’s
sharing services in anticipation of a transition largest B2C online marketplace, also leverages its
from carmaker to mobility-service provider. enormous computing power as AWS, Amazon
Societal factors driving this category shift include Web Services, primarily a B2B cloud-storage 7 The competition from higher-quality local brands in
increased urbanization, an inclination to share company.
fast-growing economies links to another trend: the
rather than own, and the desire to live in greater
fracturing of the mass market in developed economies.
harmony with the environment. The FordPass The term “telecom providers” no longer
Few modern nations are as homogenous as they were
program, for example, glimpses a future when the describes the brands that are transforming from
during the rise of the mass market after World War II.
car brand becomes a transportation concierge, commodity businesses, delivering voice and data
Migration enabled by the open borders of the European
organizing each segment of the customer’s communications, into entertainment and content
Union has changed the demographics
journey, arranging for car rentals, train tickets businesses. Similarly, “oil and gas” no longer best
of EU member countries. Even in the MARKET
and other transportation alternatives, taking all describes a category in which many of the brand
US, a nation of immigrants, the newest
the hassle out of getting from place to place leaders are increasing their focus on natural gas
arrivals enrich the country’s diversity FRAGMENTATION
and making the brand synonymous with that and renewable energy. The pace of drilling will
because they are more likely to come
frictionless experience. resume with a rise in oil prices, but oil and gas
from Latin America or Asia rather than
brands are likely to emerge from this oil shock
Europe, the primary place of origin in Increase in diversity
more intent on being seen as energy brands. That
the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
BLURRING BORDERS change has potential branding consequences. drives niche brands
The need to serve the various cultural
Until now, oil and gas brands communicated
and ethnic preferences of these
Rapid market developments blur primarily to the influencers who could impact consumers provides opportunities for new niche brands 19
important exploration contract decisions. With a
as it presents challenges for established brands.
18 borders across categories broader energy focus, brands will be closer to the
consumer; consequently, strengthening consumer-
facing brands could become a higher priority.
BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2016