Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple
Apple Top Brand in the US, Second in the World
Brandchannel.com's annual popularity poll has Apple at number one
for most popular brand in the US and Canada but dropping one place to second this year in the world to Google. Last year Apple was at the top for
both US/Canada and World polls.Brandchannel which uh, brands itself, as a "brand consultancy" company surveyed over 2500 people for the poll. They note:
Year after year brandchannel voters identify brands that the mainstream world eventually catches up with; impact is felt first by these early adopters.
Somehow I'm not totally convinced Apple is the top brand for Joe Smith from North America or even Joe Smith from Anywhere in the World. We are a bit biased at TUAW, but what do you think? How would you have ranked the top five from the US/Canada list: Apple, Google, Starbucks, Target, and, um, Lance Armstrong? What about the top five world rankers: Google, Apple, Skype, Starbucks, and Ikea? Brandchannel reminds you that you should:
Vote for the brands that had the most impact on you that year. Impact can be defined as good or bad.
So duke it out. Inquiring minds want to know.
[via Macworld]

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
J McFarren said 12:08PM on 1-23-2006
I believe that McDonalds is the most recognized brand globally, and therefore has the most brand equity. I wonder how this survey was conducted, if the survey was done online that could skew the results considerably since you would only be selection from a group of relatively technically savvy people.
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Simon Bevan said 12:18PM on 1-23-2006
We don't even have Target shops in Canada so I presume this list is US only.
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Dan Bruno said 12:25PM on 1-23-2006
Google should have been above Apple, no question.
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Billy K said 12:33PM on 1-23-2006
I can't speak for the world, but as far as the U.S. goes, Wal-Mart & McDonalds certainly has more recognition than Apple, Google, Starbucks, etc.
I'm guessing this ranking has more to do with pure recognition, though, as somehow takes into consideration the "perception" of the brand. If not, then why wouldn't Microsoft (or even Dell) be ranked higher than Apple? They most certainly have broader reach, but are probably not very well regarded.
This conclusion works with Target, as well. Wal-Mart is definitely better-known, but Target has a certain "glow" about it.
.02
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Darnell said 12:43PM on 1-23-2006
McDonalds, Nike, and Coke. I think everyone in the worlds knows those brands.
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Chris Coleman said 1:17PM on 1-23-2006
Until Google is something I can buy, all the brand rankings in the world don't mean jack shit.
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sid said 1:55PM on 1-23-2006
isn't the Coke brand name estimated at $8billion? i'd sya that's the top brand name and recognizable anywhere in the world, even in the poorest country without any access to technology
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Malfoy Roark said 4:07PM on 1-23-2006
You're right sid. The most expensive brand in the world is Coke. I'm sure popularity greatly factors greatly into that equation. And this is survey was flawed in the first place. I think starting with 2500 people to represent the world is the first error. Slashdot gets more votes than that on some of its daily polls...
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free games said 1:34AM on 1-24-2006
I always thought Coke was the top brand in the world as well. Especially in smaller and less technologically advanced places where the average person may not have a computer and internet yet!
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Kristin Wenzel said 6:16AM on 1-25-2006
I definately think there's a lot of good points brought up by the previous comments. However, I think that this has less to do with "value" or "recognition" as sole factors, and more to do with the "whole" of the brand. Apple isn't as recognizable as, say, Wal-Mart, or McDonalds, or Coca-Cola... But the perception of the brand itself - what Apple "represents" - is more "appealing" in a lot of ways. The "idea" of Apple, as a brand, is "something better" than the rest, in the minds of many people, and I think that is what is represented here.
I bet I'd make a lot more coherent sense if I were a little more awake but I woke up and read the article and comments, and felt compelled to say my piece before I lost my train of thought or went back to sleep ;)
--Kristin
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