Coca-Cola Tops Most Powerful Brands Report

Brand innovation firm Tenet Partners has released its 2016 Top 100 Most Powerful Brands Report, with Coca-Cola claiming the top position for the ninth year in a row.

April 6, 2018

Beverage brand reigns supreme while Hershey, Disney, Apple and others secure top 10 rankings.

The annual report is compiled by Tenet’s database–the CoreBrand Index–that yields results from continuous benchmark tracking through surveys of almost 1,000 companies across 50 industries for more than 25 years.

Meanwhile, participants from the top 20 percent of corporations (based on revenue) in the U.S. are surveyed the awareness of the brand (familiarity) as well as the perception of the brand including overall reputation, perception of management and investment potential (favorability).

This year’s top 10 most powerful brands are:

Coca-Cola
Hershey
Bayer
Walt Disney
Apple
Microsoft
PepsiCo
Johnson & Johnson
American Express
Google–Alphabet

In addition to Coca-Cola securing the No. 1 spot yet again, Google–Alphabet entered the top 10 for the first time, replacing Harley-Davidson, and Amazon (No. 54) arose as a “top-riser,” increasing 12 positions year-over year.

Other key findings from the report include Microsoft (No. 6) moving closer

to Apple (No. 5), climbing one spot year-over year. Johnson & Johnson (No. 8) was the biggest decliner among the top 10, falling two spots this year.

Five new brands broke into this year’s ranking including Samsung (No. 39), Hilton Hotels & Resorts (No. 44), Bloomin’ Brands (No. 91), Macy’s (No. 95) and American Airlines (No. 99).

The top brands in the hotel and entertainment category are Walt Disney (No. 4), Mattel (No. 42), Hilton Hotels & Resorts (No. 44), CBS (No. 79), Time Warner (No. 80) and Marriott (No. 81).

Despite the lack of entertainment brands in the report, food and beverage brands secured a number of top positions including Coca-Cola (No. 1), Hershey (No. 2), PepsiCo (No. 7), Kellogg (No. 12), McDonald’s (No. 15), General Mills (No. 16), Campbell Soup (No. 19), Starbucks (No. 21), Nestle (No. 26) and Kraft Foods (No. 38), among others.

“The Top 100 Most Powerful Brands are redefining themselves to remain relevant,” says Hampton Bridwell, chief executive officer, Tenet Partners. “In this age of disruption, they are successfully aligning their business and brand strategy, creating clarity in the marketplace and winning the customer loyalty battle by delivering consistent results and outstanding customer experience.”