Kantar BrandZ™ Most Valuable Global Brands 2022

Apple sits on top of the Kantar BrandZ™ Most Valuable Global Brands 2022 ranking and is on track to become the first trillion-dollar brand. With a brand value of $947.1bn, Apple stands out for its high degree of differentiation and continued diversification across its hardware, software and services portfolio. Google moves up to second place and is one of the fastest risers in the ranking, increasing its brand value by 79% to $819.6bn. Google’s suite of work and productivity apps have made it an essential part of consumers’ lives worldwide.

The combined value of the world’s Top 100 most valuable brands has increased by 23% to $8.7 trillion over the past year, highlighting the importance of brand strength in navigating an unsettled global economy. Since its inception in 2006, the overall value of the Kantar BrandZ™ Top 100 Brands ranking has increased by a CAGR of 12.1% - more than three times the growth of global GDP over the same period.

Thirty-seven brands improved their ranking this year. In 2022, over three quarters of brand value originated from US companies. Media & Entertainment, Business Solutions & Technology Providers and Retail categories account for over half of the total value of the Top 100 ranking.

Kantar BrandZ™ Top 10 Most Valuable Global Brands 2022¹

Key trends highlighted in Kantar BrandZ™’s global study include:

• MICROSOFT, ZARA AND IBM lead the way in the new Kantar Sustainability BrandZ™ Index, which shows sustainability already accounts for 3% of brand equity and is expected to rise. Consumer sustainability perception rose significantly in recent years, with Chinese consumers ranking second, next only to Americas.
• TESLA is one of this year’s biggest success stories shifting to No.29 from No.47 mirroring the world-wide sales trend of electric vehicles more than doubling in 2021. China’s new energy vehicle brands are also gaining momentum, with BYD joining the auto sub-category ranking.
• LOUIS VUITTON (No.10; $124.3bn) is the first luxury brand to reach the global Top 10 reflecting the growth of the luxury market worldwide and in China in particular. Louis Vuitton experienced 64% growth in brand value this year and is the first European brand to reach the global Top 10 since 2010.
• NEWCOMERS in 2022’s ranking emerge from a range of categories. China’s KUAISHOU made its debut at No.82 with an evaluation of $26.54bn. Saudi Arabia’s energy brand Aramco is the most valuable newcomer at No.16. India’s IT services and consultancy Infosys arrived at No.64. Latin America’s largest online commerce and payments ecosystem, Mercado Libre entered at No.71.
• CHINESE brands hold strong, despite facing unique pandemic challenges, placing twice in the global Top 10 with Tencent at No.5 and Alibaba at No.9. China is also the only market rivalling the USA’s dominance in the Media & Entertainment category² with WeChat at No.5 and Douyin/TikTok at No.9. Haier continues its journey of building an IoT ecosystem brand and achieved 33% growth in brand value.

Chinese Brands of Kantar BrandZ™ Top 10 Most Valuable Global Brands 2022

“Last year was exceptionally tough for Chinese brands. The wild fluctuation of stock prices in domestic and overseas markets, the resurgence of COVID variants and extended travel restrictions have halted the once high-speed growth of Chinese brands,” said Doreen Wang, Kantar Greater China CEO and Global Chair of Kantar BrandZ™. “But it’s also against this backdrop that we can see clearly those Chinese companies with strong brands are more resilient. There are still 14 Chinese brands joining this year’s top 100.”

“Now all markets are full of uncertainty. Brand owners shall focus on what they can control to ward off external challenges,” she said. “Chinese brands shall leverage latest technologies to obtain insights, build end-to-end innovations, keep investing in building brands and develop their brand purposes that can support sustainability. A strong brand will always be the talisman and amplifier of businesses.”  

Sector leaders come from a mix of industry sectors

Technology and Luxury brands grew the fastest; 46% for Consumer Technology and 45% for Luxury. Bank and Automotive brands also demonstrated impressive growth; Automotive by 34% and Banks by +30%. This compares to growth across sectors such as Apparel (20%) and Personal Care (17%). At a category level, Wells Fargo was the only new No.1 brand.

Category Leaders: Kantar BrandZ™ Most Valuable Global Brands 2022

*In Retail, the value of Amazon includes its retail businesses only; For Media & Entertainment, Google includes Google branded services and products, excluding Google Cloud. For Food and Beverages, the Brand Value of Coca-Cola here does not include- Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Light. L'Oréal Paris is a brand of L'Oréal Group.

“'Strong brand affinity underpins a customer’s willingness to pay and has never been more important for organisations looking to offset spiking inflation,” explains Martin Guerrieria, Head of Kantar BrandZ™. “This year’s results show us the value of continued investment in brand and marketing capabilities, as a means of maximising business returns, irrespective of market conditions.”

Focus on brand-building, product and market diversification maximises business returns:

• The pandemic has further accelerated growth of e-commerce in the retail category, hence brands with stronger connections to consumers were able to sustain their growth online and beyond.
• Portfolio brands that continue to innovate and diversify their offer continue to grow, especially evident with Apple, Google and Amazon, amongst others, as their services cross technology, entertainment and payment services. Brands reliant on one category or market have the greatest risk profile, whereas brands that have diversified into multiple categories and markets showed faster brand value growth in 2022 and have a better chance of above-average growth.
• To navigate a disruptive market, brands must lock down trust as a means of driving stability and safety. More than in the past, brands today must build trust on the basis of societal performance, not just product performance. Sometimes, this means a social purpose that is integrated into the entire organisation. Nike is a good example with its ongoing commitment to inspire and innovate for everyone, not just high-performance athletes, particularly girls and minority communities.

“Kantar BrandZ™’s 2022 global report, the 17th edition, uncovers the importance of brand-building to help survive market disruption, continues Guerrieria. Brands are typically the biggest assets businesses have, adding massive value to the balance sheet. In uncertain times, management decisions on marketing investment can be supported by proven metrics. Kantar BrandZ™’s brand valuations clearly show how great marketing connects to brand value in both the short and long-term.”

To download the report

The Kantar BrandZ™ Most Valuable Global Brands 2022 ranking, report and extensive analysis are available now via https://marketplace.ktrmr.cn/marketplace/brandz-booth/2022-kantar-brandz-china-report.shtml .

About Kantar BrandZ™:

Kantar BrandZ™ is the global currency when assessing brand value, quantifying the contribution of brands to business’ financial performance. Kantar’s annual global and local brand valuation rankings combine rigorously analysed financial data, with extensive brand equity research. Since 1998, BrandZ™ has shared brand-building insights with business leaders based on interviews with 4.1 million consumers, for 19,250 brands in 51 markets. Discover more about Kantar BrandZ™ here.  

About Kantar:

Kantar is the world’s leading marketing data and analytics company. We have a complete, unique and rounded understanding of how people think, feel and act; globally and locally in over 90 markets. By combining the deep expertise of our people, our data resources and benchmarks and our innovative analytics and technology, we help our clients understand people and inspire growth.

Notes to editors:

1.    In the main ranking, brands under Alphabet and Meta were evaluated independently. Tencent and Alibaba were each evaluated as one brand.
2.    In Media and Entertainment sub-category, WeChat and Douyin/Tiktok were evaluated independently.
3.    “Chinese brands” refer to brands that were founded in China or owned by a Chinese company.

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Monica Zhang
Director of Brand Marketing and Communications, China, Kantar
Email: monica.zhang@kantar.com  
Mobile: +86 185 1531 0387

Martin Guo
Editor-in-Chief, China, Kantar
Email: martin.guo@kantar.com  
Mobile: +86 182 2163 3729