Google remains number one of the Brandz Top 100 Most Valued Global Brands for the third year running.

The fourth annual Brandz Top 100 Most Valued Global Brands have been revealed, with Google remaining at the top spot with a brand value of $100 billion. 

The search engine is followed in the top 10 by: Microsoft, Coca-Cola, IBM, McDonald’s, Apple, China Mobile, GE, Vodafone and Marlboro.

Nine of the top 10 brands from 2008 remain in the top 10, as do 85 out of the top 100. Those that have slipped from the ratings were in sectors “particularly hard-hit by the economic storm”.

Despite the current economic climate, the value of the top 100 brands has increased 2% since last year, to $2 trillion. Small luxuries and vices, such as lipstick, sunglasses and cigarettes are continuing to sell well, while low-cost retailers such as Aldi and Wal-Mart have seen an increase in their brand value.

Pampers was the highest-rated brand in the ‘newcomers’ section, while H&M was the top apparel brand, recognised for selling its clothes at value prices. Those brands in the bottled water category saw a significant slowdown in sales, while car brands suffered the worst, losing 22% in value.

To value a brand, three factors are taken into account: a company’s earnings under the banner of the brand – for example, Coca-Cola’s earnings would also incorporate the sales of Fanta, the brand under Coca-Cola’s banner; the brand contribution – how much the earnings are attributable to the brand; and the brand multiple – the growth potential of the earnings.

The list is compiled using data from Brandz, Bloomberg and Datamonitor. To view the report in full, visit: http://www.brandz.com/output/ ^[1]