It’s a brand war – but where’s the battlefield?

We all know the importance of brands and the race to achieve a strong brand ranking. If we look at the well respected Brandz Top 100 as published by Millward Brown, the measurement is put together through teaming customer value perceptions with company financial information. And from Brandz Top 100 it is clear the tech companies have been charging ahead. Apple takes the number one spot, followed by Google and IBM. Meanwhile global branding company Interbrand’s 2011 ranking report, which grades brands on a mix of financial performance, role of brand and brand strength, gives the top three spots to Coca-Cola, IBM and Microsoft.

But there may be a new kid on the block with a different perspective on brand valuation. New website, Fan Page List has been created to help users find the official Facebook and Twitter profiles of their favourite brands. But it also ranks brands according to their Facebook popularity and this, unsurprisingly gives an entirely different focus to the Top 100. Our Brandz number one, Apple, is nowhere to be seen , although Interbrand’s number one, Coca-Cola does come in at number 16. The top 20, according to their Facebook equity, includes many more FMCG brands, with Starbucks featuring as the breakout star (long recognised as one of the most switched on brands in social media with more than twenty-five million Facebook ‘likes’). Perhaps less obviously, Starbucks is accompanied on the list by much less obvious brands like Nutella, Skittles and Oreo.

We’re all about building brands in inventive ways and increasingly using Facebook as part of integrated marketing plans. So well done Fan Page List, it's good to have you around as a great source of brand building inspiration.