Coca-Cola Still World’s Most Known Brand, Report Says

By The Associated Press

As the economy slumps, a company’s brand becomes its most solid asset, according to an industry report listing Google Inc., Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Zara International Inc. and Nintendo Co. as having the fastest-rising global brands.

In the report, released Thursday evening by brand consultancy Interbrand, Coca-Cola Co.’s image was most valuable overall for the eighth year in a row. Interbrand ranked brands according to the amount of a company’s revenue that was attributable to them.

Google, whose brand’s value rose the most, released new features such as Google Mobile, Google Docs & Spreadsheets and Google Book Search that Interbrand said extended reach and increased the brand’s worth by $25.59 billion.

In April, U.K.-based branding and research company Millward Brown Optimor chose Google for the second year in a row as its top brand, while ranking Coca-Cola fourth. Both companies factor in a company’s performance when determining its brand’s value.

Ford Motor Co.’s, Citigroup Inc.’s, Morgan Stanley’s, Gap Inc.’s and Merrill Lynch’s brands’ values fell the most in Interbrand’s ratings. Merrill Lynch suffered colossal losses in the credit crisis before by Bank of America bought it.