In 2008, BrandZ ranked Toyota the number one brand of automobiles, valuing the brand at more than $35 billion. In 2010, however, it valued the Toyota brand under $22 billion. Discuss some of the reasons for the drop in Toyota’s brand value.
What is a brand’s worth? It depends on who is measuring it. For example, in 2009, Google was valued to be worth $100 billion by one brand valuation company but only $32 billion by another. Although this variation is extreme, it is not uncommon to find valuations of the same brand differing by $20 to $30 billion. Interbrand and BrandZ publish global brand value rankings each year, but a comparison of these two companies’ 2009 ranking reveals an overlap of only six of the top ten brands.