BMW has been named 12th in Interbrand’s list of the 100 Best Global Brands in 2013.
According to the Interbrand report, “The brand (BMW) topped US luxury auto sales for the year, and increased car sales 40 percent in the Chinese market. Sustainability and urban mobility are a huge focus for the brand, which is evident in the upcoming launch of the BMW i3 model. Mobile apps are supporting its vision for urban mobility, including Chargepoint, which shares information on electric vehicle charging stations. Its flagship London showroom for its i series of electric and hybrid vehicles, located on the city’s exclusive Park Lane, underlines how BMW is positioning its new range at the premium end of the market. BMW projects that the US and China will be its largest markets for electric vehicle sales, followed by Europe. Much depends, however, on how quickly China’s government can provide an infrastructure for EVs. BMW enjoyed a halo effect from sponsoring the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games, paving the way for its 2013 “Designed for Driving Pleasure” campaign. BMW’s 360-degree Olympics platform included providing vehicles and bicycles, first-time sponsorship of Team USA, and an on-site brand pavilion—a significant commitment that helped lead to the brand’s biggest year to date. As pure driving pleasure and car ownership become less of a demand driver, BMW must meet consumers’ evolving needs while fending off traditional competitors and new entrants such as Tesla.”
Since Best Global Brands launched in 2000, this annual look at the world’s most valuable brands has been one of Interbrand’s most important commitments to the promotion of brands as key value creators for business and society. In 2010, the brand valuation methodology was the first to be certified as compliant with the requirements of the ISO 10668 international standard for monetary requirements for brand valuation.
Interbrand’s valuation methodology enables one to articulate the contribution of the brand to business results. It brings together market, brand, competitor, and financial data into a single framework within which a brand’s performance can be assessed, a roadmap for improvement identified, and the financial impact of investing in your brand quantified. One component of the methodology is the Brand Strength framework. This is a diagnostic tool that delivers actionable insights, letting one know what to do next, rather than providing a rear-view mirror of past performance. Additionally, by addressing the strength of the brand inside the organization as well as externally, it provides a more holistic assessment of the brand performance. Finally, Interbrand combine these powerful tools with diverse skills and experience. By bringing Interbrand’s unique combination of strategic, creative, analytical, and financial skills to the valuations, together with their experience of working with world-leading brands, Interbrand generates rich and varied insight from the valuation process, truly delivering on their mission to create and manage brand value.
There are several criteria for inclusion in Interbrand’s annual Best Global Brands report. The brand must be truly global and needs to have successfully transcended geographic and cultural boundaries. It must have expanded across the established economic centers of the world, and be establishing a presence in the major markets of the future. In measurable terms, this requires that:
- At least 30 percent of revenues must come from outside the brand’s home region.
- It must have a presence in at least three major continents, as well as broad geographic coverage in emerging markets.
- There must be sufficient publicly available data on the brand’s financial performance.
- Economic profit must be expected to be positive over the longer term, delivering a return above the brand’s operating and financing costs.
- The brand must have a public profile and awareness above and beyond its own marketplace.
These requirements—that a brand be global, visible, and relatively transparent in financial results—lead to the exclusion of some well-known brands that might otherwise be expected to appear in the ranking. The Mars and BBC brands, for example, are privately held and do not have publicly available financial data. Walmart, although it goes business in international markets, often does so under a variety of brands and, therefore, does not meet Interbrand’s global requirements.
For similar reasons, brands in several sectors have been excluded. Telecommunications, for example, tends to be strongly oriented to national markets and faces awareness challenges outside of home markets. The airline industry is highly capital intensive and, typically, operates on narrow margins. This means that airline brands struggle to achieve positive economic profits over the long term. Major pharmaceutical companies, while valuable businesses, are also omitted. This is because consumers tend to build a relationship with the product brands rather than with the corporate brand owner, and there is insufficient publicly disclosed financial data on pharmaceutical product brands to meet Interbrand’s criteria.
In Cebu, BMW is officially distributed by AUTOWELT INC., a member of the Gateway Motors Group of companies. One can visit its showroom located at Nivel Hills Lahug Cebu City.
FOR INQUIRIES:
LUDWIG O FEDERIGAN,
Group Head of Marketing
Direct Line +63 32 316 0718 | Mobile + 63 917 549 8068
