Each year, Inter brand (a corporate strategy consultant) reports the 100 top brands in the world. The leading brands are determined from a calculation based on an analysis to determine what portion of the firm's sales and earnings can be credited to the firm's brand. For 2014, the top 10 brands were, in order:
1. Apple
2. Google
3. Coca-Cola
4. IBM
5. Microsoft
6. General Electric
7. Samsung
8. Toyota
9. McDonald's
10. Mercedes-Benz
In addition to brand, a key measure for a company is its innovation. The Boston Consulting Group, a global consulting firm, prepares an annual survey of senior executives to rank the most innovative companies. The top 10 in 2014 were:
1. Apple
2. Google
3. Samsung
4. Microsoft
5. IBM
6. Amazon.com
7. Tesla
8. Toyota
9. Face book
10. Sony
Required
Which of the above firms would you classify as a cost leader and which would you classify as a differentiator, and why?