This is SAP’s highest ranking to date – up one place from 2018 and five places from 2017 – and represents another step forward in the company’s quest to become a top 10 global brand. Overall, SAP’s brand value grew by 4 percent last year to more than $57.2 billion.
Significantly, SAP is ranked ahead of well-known brands, such as Disney, UPS, and Starbucks, and many rivals in the enterprise technology sector.
To qualify for the ranking, brands must be publicly traded or publish their financial results. BrandZ’s list combines measures of brand equity based on interviews with more than 3 million consumers about thousands of brands with analysis of each company’s business and financial performance, using data from Kantar Worldpanel.
As the report notes, the most valuable brands consistently outperform leading stock market indexes, affirming that valuable brands deliver superior returns over time and regardless of market disruptions. In addition, brands with the highest financial value are likely to be highly trusted and recommended, and trusted brands grow value faster.
However, like other recent studies, the report also warns that customers are unforgiving if they lose trust in a brand. “Even if a company makes a product I love, I’ll stop supporting them if I don’t feel like I can trust them,” one consumer told researchers.
Rankings
Overall, the report notes that most brands are focused on strengthening the master brand and reaching audiences as a unified solutions partner and provider. While trust, transparency, and customer experience remain core brand value drivers, responsible and purpose-driven brands will drive future growth. B2B brands outperformed consumer brands in value appreciation, with specific mention of B2B brands marketing as B2C brands.
Half of the top 10 brands are technology brands and carry the largest category value of $1.65 billion. Amazon climbed to the number one spot, followed by Apple and Google. Apple retained the number one and two spots while Tencent dropped to number eight and Facebook maintained its number six position.
The report also notes that brands that are topping the list in 2019 are distinctively ‘meaningful,’ defined as filling functional, emotional, or social needs in relevant ways. The three components of brand equity are meaningful, difference, and salience. As SAP Chief Marketing Officer Alicia Tillman notes, “Not only does SAP excel in all three of these categories, but we are well ahead of the curve, bringing experience management to market addressing all three elements.”
There are three clear, top 10 accolades for SAP within the report:
- SAP is Ranked #1 in Continental Europe for the third year in a row. It is the only European brand in the Top 20.
- SAP is Ranked #7 in the Technology category, ahead of Salesforce (#46) and Oracle (#50), which fell five spots.
- SAP is Ranked #3 in the B2B category, representing an increase from 2018, and sharing the space with Microsoft and IBM.
