In a report issued by Brand Finance, Danish toy manufacturer Lego has overtaken Ferrari as the ‘World‘s Most Powerful Brand‘- a shocking turn of events for the luxury car company. The annual report compares thousands of the world‘s top businesses to determine the most influential brands of the year.
The ‘Powerful Brand‘ category tests the “strength” of a company, its ability to impact a company‘s performance and its relationships with consumers and staff. The results gave Lego an impressive Brand Strength Index Score of 93.4.
Although faced with bankruptcy in the early 2000‘s, Lego has transformed its image and worked with a number of high profile companies to turn the business around. Brand Finance said:
“The combination of Lego and Star Wars in particular has been irresistible to the public. ‘Lego Star Wars‘ has become a hugely successful video game franchise demonstrating that Lego is more than just a vehicle for other loved brands, its image alone is hugely marketable.”
Growth is a continuous goal for the company, as it announced its collaboration with Doctor Who in January, following a partnership with Warner Bro. Vice President of Global Licensing and Entertainment for the Lego Group, Jill Wilfert said “we constantly review properties to find those with global reach, great characters and stories and inherent building and role play opportunities”
Brand Finance put Lego‘s success down to the company appealing to a range of generations, providing nostalgia to adults who had their own collections, and reassurance to parents who seek gender fluid toys. Lego seeks to, “Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow”.
Ferrari remains a strong brand (in 9th place), though its power has shifted, most probably due to a year of internal changes and little success at Formula 1. Former Chairman Luca di Montezemolo left the company, allowing his replacement Sergio Marchionne to take charge. Rather than focusing on exclusivity, Marchionne decided to change the company‘s strategy and aim to merely boost revenues – an alteration that backfired for the luxurious, ‘elite‘ brand.
Social media platforms benefitted from the reports, as Twitter‘s brand value was up a massive 185%, taking it to $4.4bn, confirming its status as ‘Fastest Growing Brand‘. This is down to a reorganisation of the company‘s posts, focusing on popularity, not just chronological order. Baidu and Facebook saw increases of 161% and 146%, while iPhone maker Apple maintained its top spot as, the most valuable brand.
