
- The annual Brand Finance Global 500 report is out
- Tech brands dominate the rankings, with Apple at the top of the pile ahead of Microsoft, Google and Amazon
- Deutsche Telekom is the top telco, ahead of Verizon and AT&T
Deutsche Telekom (DT) is feeling very pleased with itself today after retaining its position as the most valuable brand in telecom, according to the latest Brand Finance Global 500 report, though the giant German telco did slip slightly down the overall ranking to 11th place compared with ninth place a year ago.
According to the report, Telekom’s current brand value is $85.3bn, up by 16.4% compared with a year ago, and twice as valuable as it was in 2020, when it came in at $39.9bn. DT is the only European brand in the ranking’s top 20, the telco noted in this press release.
“The Telekom brand has continued to develop successfully thanks to our global umbrella brand strategy and economic and technological successes in national and international comparison. Our brand value has more than doubled since 2020. Such results show that continuity pays off and that we are on the right track,” stated Deutsche Telekom’s chief brand officer, Ulrich Klenke. “We score points with our excellent networks, products and services,” he added.
Brand Finance, which says it adopts a “structured, quantitative review of data” to arrive at its ranking, attributes the increase in DT’s brand value to “consistent brand management and the company’s positive economic and technological development” in Europe and the US, where it is the majority owner of T-Mobile US which, like its parent company, uses the ‘T’ brand for its services. “The group continues to score points through sustainable investments in network quality, digital technologies and customer service. Telekom’s high network quality in particular plays a decisive role in attracting and retaining customers, both in Europe and in the USA,” noted DT.
While DT’s brand value increased, it did slip down the overall global ranking by a couple of places as it was edged out of the top 10 by Nvidia, which leaped to ninth place from 30th last year, and by utility firm State Grid Corporation of China (up from 12th last year).
Verizon was the next highest ranking telco, in 15th place. The other network operators in the top 100 are AT&T (24th), China Mobile (27th), NTT Group (48th), Xfinity (the brand of US cable giant Comcast, 65th), and Spectrum (the brand of another US cable giant, Charter Communications, 82nd).
Rounding out the telco/cable top 10 are Orange (118th), Saudi operator STC (136th) and UAE-based e& (146th). (For those wondering about Vodafone, it ranked at 192.)
Brand Finance noted that e& is “the fastest-growing brand value in the world this year, posting an eight-fold increase in brand value to $15.3bn. This is the final stage of a three-year group rebrand, staged to transition brand equity from Etisalat to e& as a platform for international growth.”
Tech brands dominate the top of the ranking: Apple is the clear leader, followed by Microsoft, Google and Amazon to round out the top-four rankings. Samsung comes in at 6th, with TikTok, Facebook and Nvidia in the next three positions. Huawei ranked at 59th.
- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV
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