Google named strongest global company brand in the 2015 FutureBrand Index; Apple ranks #2

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new-google-logo-knockoff-thumb-300x117-156335.jpgGoogle has ranked top in the public’s estimations of the world’s largest listed companies for a second year, pipping Apple and Microsoft according to The FutureBrand Index 2015.

The Index is an annual measure by brand consultancy FutureBrand of how PwC’s Global Top 100 Companies are perceived across a set of 18 attributes. A company’s average perception score dictates its Index position and acts as a proxy to understand its prospects in a way that complements its market capitalisation.

2000px-Apple_logo_black.svg.jpgThe top three in depth: Google leads a tech pack who all lose ground

Almost one half (48%) of the thousands of people questioned worldwide ‘agree strongly’ that Google possesses the 18 attributes on average. It scores particularly highly on consistency (51%), pleasure (54%), authenticity (50%), innovation (54%) and indispensability (50%), attributes on which it also bests Apple. However, Google’s score has slipped since 2014 when it again lead the table but with an average of 51%. Google lost most ground in the attribute of sense of purpose this year (a still-respectable 52%, from 60% last year).

Apple, which comes second in the table with a diminished average perception score of 45% (from 48% in 2014), ranks most highly and bests Google for thought leadership (52%), individuality (54%) and trust (51%). It falls most sharply on indispensability (50% in 2014, to 36% in 2015). Microsoft, which loses its second place slot to Apple this year has an average score of 43% (down from 48%).

The Index in aggregate: No improvement

Global Top 100 Companies boosted their market capitalisation by 8% to $16,245trn but their efforts to enhance perceptions in the eyes of investors have not translated into enhanced perceptions among a broader constituency. In aggregate, Global Top 100 Company perceptions are not statistically significantly more positive overall than in 2014, with the average score hovering around 25%. Individual company perceptions also continue to have no relationship to their market capitalisation, confirming the discovery of a ‘Cap Gap’ between company positions in the two rankings in 2014’s Index that may be positive or negative.

The Index leaders: fewer score at a level that’s significant for their prospects

Fewer companies (the top 21, vs. 22 last year) achieve the status of ‘Future Brand’. This status denotes they have reached a threshold in perceptions that actually makes a difference to their prospects, whereby people show an above average tendency to want to work for or buy from them, factors that count towards organisational strength in the long term. For example half of all those surveyed say they would like to work for Apple, against an average of 25% for all companies in 2015. 51% say they would buy products and services from Microsoft, against an average of 32% in 2015.

Other findings

Sectors

Health Care companies are the standout success in 2015, rising 4% in perception terms to make their sector the second most well perceived sector overall (with a 29% average score); Novo Nordisk is the single largest company gainer (up 10%, reaching position 23). Health Care companies also make the largest gains as Future Brands, with five in the top 21, up from two in 2014; AbbVie is the star performer, reaching position five. Technology remains the sector leader but has not improved in perception terms, staying at 33%, whilst Oil and Gas and Financial are two of the lowest performing sectors that did each record a small bounce of 2%, to 19% and 22% respectively.

Countries

The ten Chinese companies in the Global Top 100 score large gains of 6% on average in perception terms (rising to 23% on average and position 13 of the 18 countries). Two make the Future Brands list for the first time: Ping An and Tencent, both enjoying the same perception strength as Facebook (33%). The 53 US companies remain flat at 27% whilst losing ground relative to the other countries (falling from 5th to 8th placed country in perception terms). Whilst the eight UK companies are up 3% on average and a UK company achieves Future Brand status for the first time (SABMiller), the UK languishes in fourth lowest country (position 15).

Attributes: examples

• Strongest/weakest on trust: Apple (51%) and Comcast (13%)

• Strongest/weakest on story: Walt Disney (64%) and British American Tobacco (13%)

• Strongest/weakest on individuality: Apple (54%) and Wells Fargo (7%)

Says Tom Adams, global head of strategy at FutureBrand: “There is a strong case to monitor perceptions as avidly as we monitor share prices. Being responsive to currents in society at large, they offer a degree of foresight and in many cases seem to contradict the market verdict. That’s why it’s not enough to make it in to the Global Top 100 or even to lead your category in perception terms. Companies should aim to qualify as Future Brands because only these convert perception strength into preference, delivering real competitive advantage. Celgene, SABMiller, Actavis, Altria and Ping An deserve special mention as both Global Top 100 entrants and Future Brands. But many other companies are poised to reap the benefits of Future Brand status, if only they can get the balance between the purpose they express and experience they deliver right or address weaknesses in how they are perceived on key attributes.

“In terms of 2015’s results, companies in technology and from the US still dominate the top spots but their perceptions haven’t improved over the year overall, or have even declined as the top three companies demonstrate. We can posit that as the three become even more ubiquitous in our lives, they might become more vulnerable to issues such as data privacy. The real story however is the rise of health care, which leapfrogs into second best perceived sector, and China, one of the largest country gainers. This confirms the impression emerging from last year’s Index that we have the greatest confidence in the beliefs and behaviours of companies which unlock human potential; companies which will come to define the century.”

Says Clifford Tompsett, capital markets partner at PwC: “Widespread perceptions matter increasingly for globalised companies that touch our lives in different ways and are therefore worth contemplating alongside other traditional financial measures when assessing organisational strength, such as share price. They matter because they underpin the kinds of actions that influence individual companies such as attracting talent, finance and customers. In aggregate, perceptions also provide a clue about currents that could determine the future composition of the Global Top 100 Companies list.”

The full report, ‘The FutureBrand Index’ can be accessed here: