How much is that brand in the window?

Further to my post on the results of Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2008 report, here are a few more interesting snippets on the state of branding in 2008.

Interbrand Sampson see the breakdown of total market capitalisation of the world’s top 100 brands as follows: 38% brand; 36% tangible assets and 26% intangible assets.

If you take a look at the new entrants for 2008 in my previous post you’ll see a number of luxury brands: Ferrari, Armani, Blackberry and so on. According to Jeremy Sampson, Founder and Group Executive Chairman at Interbrand, the luxury category defies the laws of economics. Even in tighter economic conditions they keep going, and the top end demand remains. It is also important to note that they have a global footprint so are less dependent on a single market for success.

Sustainability is the hot new topic at the moment, with Ford one of the biggest losers, dropping 12% of its brand value thanks to it being slow to implement green technologies. “Momentum is growing from a low base,” said Sampson.

Emerging markets offer a huge opportunity for brand builiding, said Sampson. These markets usually have 50% of the population under the age of 21 and are typically far less risk averse than Northern European markets.

And finally, some sound advice from Sampson: “Strong brands invest and grow more in difficult times to secure greater market share for when the upturn happens.” He calls this the “clean out phase” and expects that the brands with the deepest pockets will thrive.

Having said that, I think this is true across the board, and applies equally to national and small to medium sized brands.