Google breaks into brand top 10

GOOGLE HAS MADE IT into the top 10 of Interbrand's annual Best Global Brands ranking for the first time, while IBM knocked Microsoft off its perch at second place – with Coca-cola holding on to the top spot.

With a notional brand value calculated at $25.59 billion – a 43 per cent increase on 2007 – the 'do no evil' search engine jumped into tenth spot after ranking at 20 in last year's survey.

The only other change to the top 10 list was IBM and Microsoft swapping second and third place, with brand value marked at $59.031 billion and $59.007 billion respectively.

Jez Frampton, Interbrand's head honcho reckons this year's list reflects the turmoil of the current global economy. "The current credit crisis in the US, the growth of emerging markets and the increased emphasis on sustainability are all key trends that resulted in brands rising or failing on the list," he postulated.

A company's brand is something to be protected "and a far less volatile asset than others during a time of economic uncertainty," he reckons

In terms of tech companies, Apple, Amazon, Nintendo, SAP, Cisco and Oracle saw pretty percentage increases in brand value over 10 per cent, all helping move the companies up the rankings.

For some reason we can't quite place, financial services firms Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Citi and UBS were amongst the biggest losers in this year's list.

The full top 100 list can be found here. µ