Google Inc. was ranked world’s top brand on Monday in the second annual ‘BRANDZ Top 100 Most Powerful Brands.’ The rankings, compiled by leading global market research and consulting firm Millward Brown, were announced yesterday in combination with Financial Times.

In the new list, Google has replaced Microsoft Corp. at the top spot. It has also managed to beat some of the more established brands like General Electric Co. , Coca Cola , Wal-Mart, Citi and International Business Machine.
Here are the top ten brands of 2007:

The rankings were compiled on the basis on the dollar value of the firms. The rankings used publicly available financial data along with primary research, including interviews with a million consumers worldwide, Millward Brown said.

Google has acquired top spot with an estimated brand value of $66,434 million. General Electric follows it with $61,880 million and Microsoft with $54,951 million.

Google’s jump from seventh position on last year’s list to first this year highlights the kind of market dominance the company is currently enjoying. It has managed to use word-of-mouth promotion more effectively than other brands that rely on conventional advertising media. In fact, Microsoft’s slide, to number three, comes despite the fact that it has launched its new operating system Windows Vista with massive global marketing push.

China Mobile is the top-ranked brand from outside of the US.
According to Millward Brown serving consumers in the emerging markets especially those in Brazil, China, India and Russia has emerged as an important factor influencing the brand value of various companies.

Eileen Campbell, global chief executive of Millward Brown, said the rankings showed:

A blend of good business leadership, responsible financial management and powerful marketing ... can be leveraged to create and grow corporate wealth.

Source: reuters