Tik-Tok ranks as world’s fastest-growing brand, Apple as most valuable

A new report ranks the world’s 10 most valuable brands — and its fastest-growing ones.

TikTok is the world's fastest-growing brand, according to the Brand Finance Global 500 2022 ranking. With an astounding 215% growth, the brand value of the video-focused social media site has increased from $18.7 billion in 2021 to $59.0 billion this year. Claiming the18^th spot among the world's top 500 most valuable brands, it is the highest new entrant to the annual Brand Finance ranking.

"Media consumption has increased throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but – what is more – the way we consume it has irrevocably changed,” said David Haigh, chairman and CEO of the brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance. “TikTok's meteoric growth is the proof in the pudding – the brand has gone from relative obscurity to internationally renowned in just a few years and shows no signs of slowing down.”

Most Valuable Brands
Meanwhile, Apple has retained the title of the world's most valuable brand following a 35% increase to $355.1 billion. It is the highest brand value on record, the report noted. (See list of top 10 most valuable global brands at end of article.)

The tech giant’s success has historically been tied to honing its core brand positioning. But its more recent growth can be attributed to the company's recognition that its brand can be applied effectively to a much broader range of services, such as Apple Pay and Apple TV, according to Brand Finance.

Walmart
The retail sector cemented its position as the second most valuable in the ranking thanks to the e-commerce boom, crossing the $1 trillion mark for the first time. 

During the course of the pandemic, retail has been the fastest-growing large industry in the ranking, with a brand value increase of 46% – outpacing both the tech and media sectors.  One of the global sector's top performers, Walmart, continued to see brand value growth and climbed from 6^th to 5^th position following a 20% increase in brand value to $111.9 billion. Retail also saw the most new entrants in the ranking this year at nine brands out of the total of 39 newcomers.

Other highlights from the report are below.

• The tech sector remains the most valuable in the ranking, with a cumulative brand value of close to $1.3 trillion. Of the 50 tech brands in the ranking, three are big players: Apple, Microsoft ($184.2 billion), and Samsung Group ($107.3 billion). Together, the three brands account for more than 50% of the brand value in tech.

• Media brands account for the top three fastest-growing brands in the ranking – with Snapchat (brand value up 184% to $6.6 billion) and South Korean internet brand Kakao (up 161% to $4.7 billion) following closely behind TikTok.

• Amazon and Google also saw good levels of growth, both keeping their spots behind Apple in 2^nd and 3^rd respectively.

• The tech sector is also home to two of the five fastest-growing brands in the ranking, with semiconductor brands AMD (up 122%) and Nvidia (up 100%) seeing impressive growth.

• Breaking the results down to country level, brands from the United States and China continue to dominate the ranking. More than two-thirds of the total brand value in the ranking is attributable to the two countries, with the United States accounting for 49% ($3.9 trillion) and China for 19% ($1.6 trillion). 

The world's top 500 most valuable and strongest brands are included in the annual Brand Finance Global 500 ranking – now in its 16^th year – and the United States' top 500 most valuable and strongest brands are included in the Brand Finance US 500 ranking.