African brands missing in Top 100 most valuable brands 2016

No African brand made the list of the WPP and Millward Brown top 100 most valuable brands for 2016, as Google and other technology firms dominated the first 11 slots.

MTN, South African telecoms firm, founded in 1994, appeared on the list in 2013 and 2014, which threw excitement among the management, but the telco dropped from the list in 2015 and this year.

Globally, there is serious competition among technological companies as continuous innovation, increased revenue from patronage and advertising continue to separate them. But for MTN, it has since last year been engaged in legal issues of fines, a development that may have slowed its brand equity efforts.

It is also not clear why other African brands have not grown their trademarks to global level, but reports attribute this to some factors – poor marketing budgets, currency devaluation and the strengthening dollar.

In the 2016 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, Google reclaimed from Apple the number one position. The brand increased its value 32 percent to $229 billion, while last year’s leader Apple dropped to number two after declining -8 percent in value to $228 billion. Microsoft remains at number three, growing 5 percent to $122 billion, while Facebook with +44 percent ranked number five, and Amazon with +59 percent made the seventh position, entering the Top 10 for the first time.

For the second consecutive year, Facebook was the technology brand that rose the fastest in the BrandZ Top 100, growing 44 percent to $102.6 billion, a value that pushed it into the top 10 for the first time. This was thanks to adding new features such as Friends’ Day, Disaster Alert and live video broadcast to its community platform, as well as attracting new publisher content. It is also proving highly successfully in monetising the move to mobile, attracting significant spend via its mobile ad platforms.

WPP, the multinational advertising and public relations company, and its research arm Millward Brown, said in a statement that the total brand value held by the Top 100 rose 3 percent year-on-year to hit $3.4 trillion.

The BrandZ data and analysis indicate that this was a stable year for the world’s most powerful brands in the face of global financial pressures, including the economic slowdown in China.

However, the brands that innovated, and then showcased their innovations to consumers through brand experience, have achieved standout growth, with Google, Amazon and Facebook acting as prime examples.

Disruption was the dominant trend, with brands changing the status quo with their offerings in a number of ways, often beyond the use of digital technologies. Brands of all kinds moved to build a multi-faceted ecosystem around the consumer’s needs and desires, often by diversifying into new categories.

Amazon built its own logistics network using independent contractors, which enabled it to offer flexible and one-hour delivery options, and started producing its own content. Facebook began hosting publishers’ original content to keep members active. Starbucks (+49%, no.21) moved into the ecommerce space with a ‘tap and go’ app, and enhanced its cold drinks and savoury ranges and offered beer and wine to extend its relevance.

“The brands that thrive, regardless of sector, are those that behave like challengers and adopt disruptor models and mindsets,” said David Roth, CEO EMEA and Asia, The Store WPP. “They’re shaking up other categories with innovation that goes beyond new products or technologies – transforming the way a service is delivered, enhancing the consumer experience or changing a format. The power these brands already hold, combined with the strength of their platforms, is enabling them to quickly and successfully move across sectors.”

It is indicated that brands that appear in the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking consistently deliver a better financial performance than brands that are not included, thereby generating a superior return for shareholders.

Daniel Obi