Brand values

This map looks at the most valuable brand in each country in 2018. The list of the world's top 500 brands by value is dominated by U.S. brands like Google, Amazon, Facebook, Visa, AT&T, and McDonald’s, but only one non-American brand (China’s Tencent) was able to crack the top 10 list. However, when you look just at the top brand from each country, others get a look in.

It is dominated by technology, oil and banks, with a couple of iconic car brands as well. The value of Amazon, at $150.8 billion, dwarfs even the nearest country top brand which is Samsung (South Korea) at $92.3 billion. But within the US, Apple and Google are not far behind Amazon and way ahead of Samsung.

Amazon wins out because of the sheer scale, impact and what is seen as 'audacity' of its ventures - exemplified by the move into employee health care in joint venture with JP Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway last week.

Interestingly, the report authors also offer up reasons for Apple and Google getting “left behind”. For Apple, an over-dependency on the iPhone limits the brand’s growth opportunities, while Google’s investments outside of search just don't go nearly as far as Amazon's.

They also offer a helpful definition of 'brand value' - brand value is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset that generates economic benefits for a brand within a company. In other words, this is the value of the image of the brand itself, as represented in the minds of stakeholders.