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Coca-Cola Takes Top Spot For 11th Consecutive Year in Interbrand's Ranking of 100 Most Valuable Global Brands.

LONDON, Sept. 15, 2010 -- London-based international marketing firm Interbrand announced Coca-Cola as the most valuable global brand for the 11th consequetive year in its annual ranking of the 100 most valuable brands in the world.

The announcement made today stated social media channels were of particular interest over the past year as a means forging deeper customer relationships, with the consequence that some organizations had internal brand culture difficulties while attempting to adpat to the real-time interaction facilitated by social media.

While the Coca-Cola brand is 124 years old, it has managed to stay relevant due in part because of its use of social media.

"Year after year, Coca-Cola demonstrates its ability to adapt to whatever challenges the marketplace throws its way," the announcement stated, citing the Coca-Cola brand as central to its business operations. " This year, for example, it [Coca-Coca] oriented business operations around a new philosophy of 'consumer engagement,' which yielded benefits such as a more robust social media strategy, continued development of owned media projects like its World of Coca-Cola Museum, smart product placements and ads that stir emotions."

A number of criteria were considered in forming the rankings. First, a strong brand had to meet 10 criteria: commitment, protection, clarity, responsiveness, authenticity, relevance, understanding, consistency, presence, and differentiation. Another factor was positive profitability, with at least 30% of its revenue coming from outside the home country to be considered truly global. Also important was a public profile and awareness above and beyond its own marketplace.

Brands that made the top 100 this year, while missing the cut last year, include: Sprite, 3M, Heinekin, Santander, Barclays, and Zurich among others. Falling from the top 100 were: Ferrari, Duracell, Rolex, BP, Prada, and Avon.

2010 Rank	Brand	Last Year's Rank
1	Coca-Cola	1
2	IBM	2
3	Microsoft	3
4	Google	7
5	GE	4
6	McDonald's	6
7	Intel	9
8	Nokia	5
9	Disney	10
10	HP	11
11	Toyota	8
12	Mercedes-Benz	12
13	Gillette	13
14	Cisco	14
15	BMW	15
16	Louis Vuitton	16
17	Apple	20
18	Marlboro	17
19	Samsung	19
20	Honda	18
21	H&M	21
22	Oracle	24
23	Pepsi	23
24	American Express	22
25	Nike	26
26	SAP	27
27	Nescafe	25
28	IKEA	28
29	J.P. Morgan	37
30	Budweiser	30
31	UPS	31
32	HSBC	32
33	Canon	33
34	Sony	29
35	Kellogg's	34
36	amazon.com	43
37	Goldman Sachs	38
38	Nintendo	39
39	Thomson Reuters	40
40	Citi	36
41	Dell	35
42	Philips	42
43	eBay	46
44	Gucci	41
45	L'Oreal	44
46	Heinz	48
47	Accenture	45
48	Zara	50
49	Siemens	47
50	Ford	49
51	Colgate	52
52	Morgan Stanley	57
53	Volkswagen	55
54	BlackBerry	63
55	MTV	54
56	AXA	53
57	Nestle	58
58	Danone	60
59	Xerox	56
60	KFC	61
61	Sprite	N/A
62	Adidas	62
63	Audi	65
64	Avon	67
65	Hyundai	69
66	Yahoo	64
67	Allianz	81
68	Santander	N/A
69	Hermes	70
70	Caterpillar	66
71	Kleenex	71
72	Porsche	74
73	Panasonic	75
74	Barclays	N/A
75	Johnson & Johnson	80
76	Tiffany & Co.	76
77	Cartier	77
78	Jack Daniel's	N/A
79	Moet & Chandon	82
80	Credit Suisse	N/A
81	Shell	92
82	Visa	94
83	Pizza Hut	79
84	Gap	78
85	Corona	N/A
86	UBS	72
87	Nivea	86
88	Adobe	95
89	Smirnoff	84
90	3M	N/A
91	Ferrari	N/A
92	Johnnie Walker	N/A
93	Heineken	N/A
94	Zurich	N/A
95	Armani	89
96	Lancome	91
97	Starbucks	90
98	Harley-Davidson	73
99	Campbell's	100
100	Burberry	98