It’s that time of year again when Brand Finance puts businesses through their paces to determine which are the most powerful, valuable and best performing brands in the country.
And for the first time in seven years, a new king has arrived to steal the crown from Woolworths, who has boasted the title of Australia’s most valuable brand since 2009.
No, it was Telstra who managed to sneak up with a massive 37 per cent increase in brand value and also climbing 35 places to be ranked 110 in the Global 500.
Brand Finance Australia managing director, Mark Crowe, said, “It is testimony to Telstra’s brand strength which has driven a significant increase in value despite only a 3.6 per cent increase in revenue”.
Optus also enjoyed a strong year with a 31 per cent increase in brand value that has seen it move up one place to ninth ranked Australian brand.
But telecoms weren’t the only industry to win awards, with the banking sector taking a big bite out of the top 10 line-up.
ANZ regained its place as Australia’s most valuable banking brand, climbing into third spot, followed by Commonwealth, Westpac and nab.
“The Australian banks have all performed exceptionally well and have recorded increases in value, growing collectively by 3.6 per cent. The strength of the bank brands is highlighted by the fact the sector accounts for 33 per cent of value in the Top 100 brands,” Crowe added.
Despite dropping one place to fourth, CBA remains Australia’s most powerful brand.
Qantas saw the biggest growth of all brands in the last year, adding 83 per cent more value to its name and taking eighth spot in the Most Powerful brand’s list.
New entrants for 2016 include Medibank Private (31st), Dulux Australia (61st), Priceline (66th), Officeworks (72nd), Equity Red Star (82nd), Brambles (96th), Buzz (98th) and Veda (100th).
Nearly 70 per cent of the Top 100 brand value is from just three sectors Banking (35.4 per cent), Retail (17.8 per cent) and Telecoms (14.4 per cent).