Marquette IP was thrilled to attend Interbrand’s Best Global Brands event in October, for the unveiling of its 2019 report. Each year, Interbrand’s Best Global Brands report shines a spotlight on the top 100 most valuable brands around the globe. The rankings are based on Interbrand’s brand valuation methodology which involves a financial analysis of the success achieved by companies under the brand, the role of the brand in progressing and positioning the company, overall strength of the brand from a strategy standpoint and whether the brand has been adequately protected as a trade mark asset.
The 2019 Best Global Brands report is themed ‘Iconic Moves’ and emphasises the best brands are those that make bold and brave action to stay ahead of the competition, while continually evolving. Interbrand defines ‘Iconic Moves’ as actions that “alter the competitive landscape by capturing people’s imagination”.
In particular, this insight from their report about the Top Growing Brands of 2019 really stood out to us:
“Ranging from financial services and tech, to automotive and alcohol, the Top Growing Brands are a diverse subset of the global economy that generates tremendous value not only through a strong product offering, but also a deep commitment to brand. These companies have continually built equity into their brands, treating them as assets worthy of investment. With a history of making Iconic Moves, these brands continue to reap the rewards of their category re-defining actions, which have transformed customer expectations.”
This is something we see time and time again in IP: the companies that invest in their IP and appreciate the financial value these intangible assets bring to their business are the same brands that position their businesses for future growth.
When discussing the importance of investing in your brand for competitive advantage, Interbrand ANZ CEO Nathan Birch likened it to:
“an insurance policy executives would pay handsomely for”
This goes to the heart of what we believe at Marquette IP, with almost every investment a business makes centring upon the brand in some form. Brands are powerful commercial tools, designed to achieve competitive advantage. For that very reason investment in IP should be utilised and prioritised to help drive any business into the future.
This advice is applicable for brands of all sizes. Your brand embodies the philosophies of your business and product offering and distinguishes you from your competitors in the marketplace. Investing in your brand and its various forms of IP means that no other business, person or entity can capitalise on what you have developed and built equity in.
Investing in your brand and investing in IP should go hand-in-hand; with agencies playing the role of applying creativity to achieving commercial outcomes, and IP assets the role of signifying those commercial outcomes to consumers in the marketplace.
We look forward to continuing to monitor the trends and insights that Interbrand raise into the future. We hope to see their efforts in raising a spotlight on the importance of prioritising investing in your brand as positively influencing the extent to which this school of thought is prioritised in the marketplace.
