MARIA: WELCOME BACK.
TECH ON TOP, BRAND FINANCE
RELEASING THE ANNUAL TOP 500
MOST VALUABLE BRANDS IN THE
COUNTRY AND THE TOP FIVE ARE
THIS, AMAZON, APPLE, GOOGLE,
MICROSOFT, AND AT&T.
JOINING ME NOW IS BRAND FINANCE
FOUNDER AND CEO, DAVID HEY.
IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS
MORNING.
>> YOU'RE WELCOME.
MARIA: INTERESTING TO SEE
TECHNOLOGY UP AT THE TOP OF THE
LIST OF TOP BRANDS.
YOU GO BACK 10 YEARS AGO AND IT
WAS THINGS LIKE GE, IT WAS
THINGS LIKE PROCTER & GAMBLE.
YOU KNOW, INDUSTRIAL AND
CONSUMER NAMES THAT RESONATE
WITH EVERYBODY.
TODAY IT'S JUST DOMINATED BY
TECH.
TELL US WHY.
>> WELL, THERE ARE 500 BRANDS ON
THE TABLE.
THERE ARE MANY, MANY OTHER GREAT
BRANDS FROM AMERICA.
SOMETHING LIKE 1.1 TRILLION OF
THE BRAND VALUE IS COMING FROM
THE TECH COMPANIES.
THAT'S A REFLECTION OF HOW GOOD
AMERICA IS AT GENERATING
ENTREPRENEURIAL BUSINESSES
PARTICULARLY IN THE TECH SECTOR.
IT'S SOMETHING THE CHINESE ARE
EXTREMELY JEALOUS OF.
>> ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE
FOR YOU IS WHY IS FACEBOOK STILL
ON THERE NUMBER SIX?
SEEMS LIKE THEY HAD A TERRIBLE
YEAR AND IT SEEMS LIKE THEY'VE
COME UNDER ATTACK FROM NOT ONLY
POLITICIANS, OVER IN EUROPE, BUT
ALSO HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.
SO IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S THIS
WHOLE WAVE GOING AGAINST
FACEBOOK BUT THEY STILL HAVE ONE
OF THE MOST TOP BRANDS ACCORDING
TO YOUR SURVEY.
>> YES.
WELL THE WAY WE MEASURED THEM IS
FIRST OF ALL WE MEASURE THE
STRENGTH OF THE BRAND AND THAT'S
LIKE A CREDIT RATING.
WE GIVE THEM CREDIT RATINGS.
THIS YEAR THE FACEBOOK CREDIT
RATING WENT DOWN FROM TRIP L
HE'LL A PLUS TO TRIP L HE'LL A
MY -- TRIPLE A MINUS.
THE CURRENT PERFORMANCE AT
FACEBOOK IS STILL REMARKABLY
STRONG.
THEIR ACTUAL FINANCIALS WENT UP
THIS YEAR, NOT DOWN.
NEXT YEAR AND THE YEAR AFTER
THEY COULD BE TANKING.
THEY'RE UNPOPULAR BUT THE
FINANCIALS ARE STILL GOOD.
>> WANTED TO ASK ABOUT NETFLIX
WHICH IS ONE OF YOUR FASTEST
RISING BRANDS BUT STILL TRAILS A
LOT OF THEIR EMERGING STREAMING
VIDEO COMPETITORS, DISNEY,
AMAZON, APPLE, GOOGLE, AT&T,
VERIZON, ET CETERA.
IS THIS A DANGER FOR NETFLIX
BECAUSE UNLIKE THESE OTHER
COMPANIES, THEY DON'T OWN
INFRASTRUCTURE, THEY DON'T
CREATE AS MANY MOVIES AS SOME
OTHER PEOPLE DO.
DO YOU LOOK AT THAT AND SAY
THEY'RE ABOUT TO CRUSH ALL THESE
GUYS AHEAD OF THEM OR IS THAT A
DANGER SIGNAL?
>> WELL, I THINK DANGEROUS TO
SUGGEST THEY'RE GOING TO CRUSH
DISNEY.
S DISNEY IS PRETTY AMAZING AND
THEY JUST BOUGHT 20th CENTURY
FOX TO GET THE CONTENT.
NETFLIX IS AN AMAZING DISRUPTER.
THEY'VE MORE THAN DOUBLED THEIR
VALUE IN THE LAST YEAR.
THEIR BRAND IS WORTH $22 BILLION
WHEREAS I THINK WE SAID THAT
DISNEY'S BRAND VALUE HAS GONE UP
TO $47 BILLION.
DISNEY IS STILL MUCH, MUCH
BIGGER.
THE POINT ABOUT NETFLIX, IT IS A
TRUE DISRUPTER OF MARKETS, NOT
JUST IN THE STATES, WORLDWIDE.
HERE IN THE U.K., THE BBC ARE
TERRIFIED OF NETFLIX.
DAGEN: I WAS SURPRISED -- IT'S
DAGEN McDOWELL.
I WAS SURPRISED BY AT&T, THAT'S
SO OLD SCHOOL AND THEY BOUGHT
DIRECT TV BUT THAT HAS BEEN A
DISASTER FOR THE COMPANY.
>> YEAH, WELL, WE MEASURE THE
FINANCIAL RESULTS FIRST AND
FOREMOST.
I THINK THEIR BRAND VALUE WENT
UP LIKE 2% SO THEY'RE
FLAT-LINING.
WHETHER THEY WILL CONTINUE TO
FLAT LINE OR GO DOWN IS TO BE
SAID.
THERE'S STILL RESIDUAL STRENGTH
IN THEIR BRAND.
IT'S AN OLD, ESTABLISHED, MANY
CUSTOMERS DO STILL LOVE AT&T.
MARIA: HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH
THIS LIST?
TELL US WHAT DETERMINE
TELL US WHAT TETERMINE
TELL US WHAT THEERMINE
TELL US WHAT THE DMINE
TELL US WHAT THE DETNE
TELL US WHAT THE DETERMINANTS
ARE.
>> WE LOOK AT THE STOCK MARKET
AND MAKE SURE THERE ARE PLENTY
OF FINANCIAL WE DO THE VALUES
FROM.
WE DO A FIRST CUT VALUATION OF
THE BRANDED BUSINESS AND THEN WE
DO A FIRST CUT VALUATION OF THE
BRAND WITHIN IT.
AND THERE'S PLENTY OF FINANCIAL
INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM ALL
SORTS OF SOURCES, THE COMPANIES,
BLOOMBURG, DATA PROVIDERS, OUR
OWN RESEARCH.
AND SO WE PROBABLY END UP WITH
SOMETHING LIKE 1,000 BRANDS.
WE THEN REFINE IT AND CUT IT
DOWN TO 500.
IT'S A THOROUGH PROCESS.
WE START IN JULY LAST YEAR.
WE FINISH IN DECEMBER.
THESE NUMBERS ARE ACTUALLY DATED
JANUARY THIS YEAR, WE'RE JUST
LAUNCHING THEM NOW.
THEY RELATE TO FINANCIAL
PERFORMANCE UP TO JANUARY 2019.
MARIA: IT'S INTERESTING THAT
THE BACKLASH ON TECH HAS NOT
SORT OF RESONATED AND COME
THROUGH IN TERMS OF BRAND
RECOGNITION.
BUT I GUESS NOT.
>> I THINK ONE OF THE MOST
INTERESTING THINGS ACTUALLY IS
SOME OF THE ONES THAT HAVE THE
HIGHEST VALUE DON'T REALLY TURN
OVER THAT MUCH AND LOSE A LOT OF
MONEY AND THEY'VE GOT NEGATIVE
CASH FLOWS.
UBER AND LYFT STRUGGLE TO
ACTUALLY MAKE A PROFIT AND LYFT
WHICH IS GOING TO FLOAT TODAY
LOST $1 BILLION LAST YEAR.
SO REALLY THE VALUES ARE ALL
ABOUT EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT THE
RESULTS WILL BE AND SOMETIMES
THEY CAN BE WRONG.
IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE.
>> IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE
STRENGTH OF THE BRANDS, YOU'VE
GOT A LOT OF HAPPY CUSTOMERS OUT
THERE, RIGHT?
>> YEAH, A LOT OF HAPPY
CUSTOMERS.
>> DOES THAT --
>> WHO WOULDN'T BE HAPPY IF THEY
HAD A PROVIDER THAT -- THAT'S
ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT AMAZON,
THE MODEL IS TO MAKE NO MONEY
AND THEY NOW DOMINATE THE WORLD
AND THEY ARE MAKING MONEY.