Google tops first UK Voltage brand growth rankings list
Google has emerged as the brand with the best growth potential in the UK, according to the first Voltage ranking from research giant Millward Brown.
Marketing Week has exclusive access to the UK-specific survey, which ranks products in terms of their chances of grabbing greater market share, based on existing financial data and the views of Millward Brown’s global BrandZ consumer database.
While Google is joined in the top ten by major brands such as McDonald’s and Yahoo, a number of smaller brands such as Cafédirect, First Direct and haircare specialist Tresemmé also make an appearance.
Porsche, placed sixth, is the highest-ranked automotive brand. First Direct (fifth) leads the financial services sector, while Stella Artois (11th) heads the alcoholic drink brands and Coca-Cola (14th) tops soft drinks. Interestingly, following its recent resurgence in market share, Sainsbury’s (45th) is the highest food retailer, ahead of Tesco in 57th place, with Asda in 72nd place.
The Voltage survey forms part of a wider global study by WPP Group-owned Millward Brown, called BrandZ Top 100. It is seen by some observers as a convincing competitor to Omnicom’s Global Brands report, published annually by Interbrand.
Peter Walshe, Millward Brown’s global brand director, claims BrandZ is “more rigorous and consistent”. But Interbrand has hit back, with global managing director Jan Lindemann calling the rival study “a statistical black box that mixes market research results with historical financial data”.
