LONDON: US tech giant Apple has been judged to be the brand most likely to succeed in the future, according to a survey of 3,000 consumers around the world.
For its latest annual rankings, brand consultancy FutureBrand assessed perceptions about 100 global brands among customers in 17 countries, who assessed them according to 18 attributes, such as innovation, individuality and trust.
Apple stood out for attachment, trust, purpose and price premium, among other factors, although it scored less well for resource management and wellbeing.
Its overall performance meant it retook the top spot from Google in this year's FutureBrand Index even though Google was viewed as the most future-orientated brand.
However, as explained by Marketing Week, Google seems to have fallen victim to a recent corporate reorganisation that made it part of parent company Alphabet.
Alphabet does not have the same degree of brand perception among global consumers, and as a result was placed only at number 21 in the rankings.
Second place went to Microsoft, which actually beat Apple in terms of innovation, making it one of six technology companies among the 24 with the status "future brand".
Joining Apple and Microsoft in the top ten were Samsung in the third place, followed by Walt Disney, which ranked highest for storytelling (56%), pharmaceutical firm Abbvie, Facebook, Toyota, Amazon, and then Celgene and Gilead Sciences, both biopharmaceutical companies.
Despite their reputation for innovation, the survey results suggested that brands in the consumer services sector, such as Disney, are catching up in terms of perception.
Tom Adams, Global Head of Strategy at FutureBrand, commented on this trend. He said: "Tech firms like Google and Apple are at the forefront of the initial revolution and created the infrastructure for other firms to capitalise on in a world of newly connected customers.
"With tech companies having led the way consumer services businesses have now caught up and are getting the credit they deserve."
For its latest annual rankings, brand consultancy FutureBrand assessed perceptions about 100 global brands among customers in 17 countries, who assessed them according to 18 attributes, such as innovation, individuality and trust.
Apple stood out for attachment, trust, purpose and price premium, among other factors, although it scored less well for resource management and wellbeing.
Its overall performance meant it retook the top spot from Google in this year's FutureBrand Index even though Google was viewed as the most future-orientated brand.
However, as explained by Marketing Week, Google seems to have fallen victim to a recent corporate reorganisation that made it part of parent company Alphabet.
Alphabet does not have the same degree of brand perception among global consumers, and as a result was placed only at number 21 in the rankings.
Second place went to Microsoft, which actually beat Apple in terms of innovation, making it one of six technology companies among the 24 with the status "future brand".
Joining Apple and Microsoft in the top ten were Samsung in the third place, followed by Walt Disney, which ranked highest for storytelling (56%), pharmaceutical firm Abbvie, Facebook, Toyota, Amazon, and then Celgene and Gilead Sciences, both biopharmaceutical companies.
Despite their reputation for innovation, the survey results suggested that brands in the consumer services sector, such as Disney, are catching up in terms of perception.
Tom Adams, Global Head of Strategy at FutureBrand, commented on this trend. He said: "Tech firms like Google and Apple are at the forefront of the initial revolution and created the infrastructure for other firms to capitalise on in a world of newly connected customers.
"With tech companies having led the way consumer services businesses have now caught up and are getting the credit they deserve."
Data sourced from FutureBrand, Marketing Week; additional content by Warc staff
