Google Overtakes Apple to Become World’s Most Valuable Brand

There has been an ongoing battle between US search engine Google and technology titan Apple to be the leading brand, but this year Google has pulled ahead of its competition. Google has overtaken its rival to become the world’s top brand in terms of value in 2014. Apple had previously held the top ranking spot, but a recent calculation of brand value showed a shift in rankings.

Google’s brand value increased a whopping 40 percent in a year to $158.84 billion, while Apple, which dominated the top position for three consecutive years, saw its brand value fall by 20 percent to a lowly $147.88 billion.

“Google has been hugely innovative in the last year with Google Glass, investments in artificial intelligence and a multitude of partnerships that see its Android operating system becoming embedded in other goods such as cars,” said Millward Brown executive Nick Cooper.

While Apple hasn’t been innovating at the same pace it has in the past, Google has been pushing more unconventional, innovative products forward. The firm joined hands with Luxottica, the frame giant behind Ray-Ban and other high-end brands, to sell Google Glass, the new Internet-linked eyewear product, in the United States. “All of this activity sends a very strong signal to consumers about what Google is about and it has coincided with a slowdown at Apple.”

Apple may have slipped out of the top spot, but the company still ranks far above the rest of its competitors. IBM ranked third with a $107.5 million, while Microsoft and McDonald’s rounded out the top five.