Mobile Brands and Customers
Is a brand now being judged by how well it relates to customers? For a decade and a half, maybe more, the brand has been judged primarily by financial performance, and it still is and of course customers are very important to that. My question though is – is there a subtle change? Is brand value more and more reflecting the abilities of companies in the human relationships’ side of business?
That question really struck me when I looked at Brand Finance’s June ranking of the top 500 global brands. The top 500 have lost over $700 billion of value in a year. Telcos though have withstood the fall better than most to become the top branded sector, ie the top ten Telcos are top of all sector Top Tens.
Of course it is speculation to say that Telcos have withstood the steep decline in brand values simply because they have large installed subscription-customer bases.
Walmart is the top global brand and it too is a strong customer facing company (doesn’t always get it right of course!). And amazingly retail was the least affected of all brand sectors. Nokia, by the way, is a more valuable brand than Walt Disney, Nike or BMW.
Another trend that went unnoticed in the press commentary that I read is that Asian brands are becoming more visible. China Mobile is number 4 in Telcos (Vodafone is number 1). Five European brands have slipped out of the Top 500 while 13 Asian brands have entered it. But back to the main point. The strongest sectors are those that provide something tangible to a retail customer base.
That question really struck me when I looked at Brand Finance’s June ranking of the top 500 global brands. The top 500 have lost over $700 billion of value in a year. Telcos though have withstood the fall better than most to become the top branded sector, ie the top ten Telcos are top of all sector Top Tens.
Of course it is speculation to say that Telcos have withstood the steep decline in brand values simply because they have large installed subscription-customer bases.
Walmart is the top global brand and it too is a strong customer facing company (doesn’t always get it right of course!). And amazingly retail was the least affected of all brand sectors. Nokia, by the way, is a more valuable brand than Walt Disney, Nike or BMW.
Another trend that went unnoticed in the press commentary that I read is that Asian brands are becoming more visible. China Mobile is number 4 in Telcos (Vodafone is number 1). Five European brands have slipped out of the Top 500 while 13 Asian brands have entered it. But back to the main point. The strongest sectors are those that provide something tangible to a retail customer base.
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