Amazon chases Apple’s tail as most valuable US brand

Apple and Google are holding steady as the most valuable brands in the US, however Amazon, Netflix, PayPal, and Uber are rapidly rising through the top 100 list.

The rankings come courtesy of WPP and its insights agency Kantar Millward Brown, which have published their annual BrandZ rankings for 2019. They analyzed financial data from Bloomberg and insights from Kantar Worldpanel, specifically, the opinions of more than 164,000 US consumers gathered for over 1,500 brands.

Apple claimed the number one spot from Google, which fell to number two this year. The study estimated that Apple’s brand value has risen 13% to $316.1bn – a figure researchers attributed to its luxury brand credentials, driven by the launch of the iPhone X and continued innovation throughout its ‘entire ecosystem of services.'

Amazon was named the third most valuable brand in the US, followed by Microsoft and Visa, at ranks four and five, respectively. Jeff Bezos’ ecommerce giant saw a 69% growth in brand value year-on-year – the highest lift in the top 10.

It was Netflix, however, that grew in value more than any brand. The streaming service, which came in at number 28, increased its brand value by 93% to $30.2bn, a leap Kantar said was based on the growing adoption of streaming entertainment worldwide and the personalization of its service with original content.

PayPal also saw a dramatic brand value increase, of 88%. Uber, the study noted, was named by US respondents as the company that provided the best brand experience, despite ranking at 35. It topped the list of newcomers to the top 100, ahead of brands such as HBO, Dell, and Xbox.

B2B brands also saw growth, with Adobe’s value rising by 66%, Salesforce’s by 44% and Accenture’s by 33%.

Kantar said this year’s study shows brands looking to grow their value most focus on offering a great experience and bolstering their innovation credentials.

“Innovative companies such as Netflix and Uber are disrupting markets and creating new ones, while larger brands like Apple continue to shake things up with data, digital, and marketing technology investments to maintain leadership in the new era of consumer experience,” said Tim Wragg, chief executive of Kantar North America’s insights division.

“This year’s ranking shows that while US brands are among the most innovative in the world, innovation alone is no longer enough for brands to grow.”

Beth Ann Kaminkow, chief executive of of Kantar Consulting Brand & Marketing Americas, noted that US brands are lagging behind those of other countries on both the innovation and customer satisfaction fronts.

“They will need to focus on improving consumers’ experience of their brand in 2019 by breaking down internal silos and uniting marketing and sales to design holistically across all channels and touchpoints, for experience and commerce,” she said.

The 2019 BrandZ top 10 most valuable US brands

1. Apple
2. Google
3. Amazon
4. Microsoft
5. Visa
6. Facebook
7. McDonald's 
8. AT&T
9. IBM
10. Mastercard