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Five Greatest Brands Ever

Introduction

There is nothing short term about good branding. The products may change, de-
velop and become extinct – the original Coca-Cola contained two substances that
you can nowadays be locked up for possessing – but the brand, with careful nurtur-
ing, remains. Most great brands tell consumers something about the product or
service as well as something about themselves.

As usual, when talking of matters concerned with selling, the starting There is nothing
point is the market and consumers. You have to understand the needs short term
and desires of the customer, understand the key attributes of the product about good
and anticipate what needs to be done to relate the product to the values of branding.
the customer.

Value is the other great starting point. Customers relate to products because
they can relate to something in them that they value. The brand owner then com-
municates these values through every medium, through the packaging, the shop
shelf, advertising, press comments and eventually word of mouth.

In the book The Worlds Greatest Brands, the editor Nicholas Kochan explains
how the Interbrand (a branding consultancy) assessment of top brands works. These
are the criteria and using a combination of them is how I have selected the five
greatest brands ever.

• Brand weight: the influence or dominance that the brand has over its category
or market (more than just market share)

• Brand Length: the stretch or extension that the brand has achieved in the past
or is likely to achieve in the future (especially outside its original category)