Coca-Cola yet again led the list of the world's Top 100 brands, despite a 3 percent year-over-year decline in "brand value," according to this year's BusinessWeek/Interbrand annual ranking of the "100 Best Global Brands" (pdf), writes .
According to the rankings:
- Microsoft, IBM, GE and Nokia followed the soft-drink giant to constitute the Top 5; Toyota, Intel, McDonald's, Disney and Mercedes-Benz rounded out the Top 10.
- All but three of the Top 10 were US brands; the remaining three are based in Finland, Japan and Germany.
- Among the Top 10, the brand with the greatest year-over-year increase in brand value was Toyota, growing 15 percent; meanwhile, Intel's brand value decreased 4 percent year over year.
- But the biggest winner in brand value was No. 20 Google, registering a 44 percent increase from last year, when it was No. 24.
- The biggest loser in brand value was No. 41 Ford, with a 19 percent decrease from last year, when it was No. 30.
But there's hope for staging brand comebacks, as illustrated by several brands that did so in this year's rankings, according to Business Week:
- Among them are No. 5 Nokia, which increased its brand value 12 percent after having faltered a couple of years ago.
- Others are Nintendo, Audi, Hewlett-Packard, Burberry and Citibank.
