Samsung brand fastest to add value


Samsung now ranks as the world's third largest seller of mobile phones

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- The brand value of South Korea's Samsung Electronics is the fastest growing in the world, according to the latest survey by global brand consultancy Interbrand.

Samsung, whose product range includes memory chips, mobile phones, DVD players and widescreen TVs, added almost $2 billion to its brand value last year.

That 30 percent gain lifted its value from $6.37 billion to $8.31 billion and was by far the biggest jump among the top 100 brands.

But Samsung's name is still a relative minnow in the battle for global brand supremacy, with U.S. beverage giant Coca-Cola again topping the value list at $69.6 billion.

Microsoft and IBM rank second and third -- their same positions as last year -- with brand values of $64.1 billion and $51.2 billion respectively.

Ahead of Nike, Gap

Samsung ranks No. 34 in this year's Top 100 compiled by Interbrand and U.S. magazine BusinessWeek, just ahead of Nike and Gap.

It is one of just seven Asian brands in the list. The other six predictably are Japanese, headed by automaker Toyota at No. 12, with a brand value of $19.45 billion.

Honda is next at No. 18 and a value of $15.1 billion, followed by consumer electronics giant Sony at No. 21 and $13.9 billion.

Nintendo at No. 32 ($9.22 billion), Canon at No. 43 ($6.7 billion) and Panasonic at No. 81 ($31.4 billion) make up the remainder of the Asian brands.

The Interbrand list again shows the dominance of U.S. brand names. In the top 10, only Finland's Nokia at No. 5 and DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes at No. 10 are from outside the United States.

The others in the top 10 are GE, Intel, Disney, McDonald's and Marlboro.

Ericsson, Ford decline


Samsung is one of just seven Asian brand names on the Top 100 list

The biggest value losers in the Top 100 are Ericsson, down 49 percent to $3.59 billion and 71st spot, and Ford, down 32 percent to $20.4 billion, for the No. 11 spot.

Samsung owes its rapid brand appreciation in part to its 2001 "Everyone's Invited" advertising campaign for its consumer electronics.

One result has been a sharp lift in demand for its mobile phones, with industry analyst Gartner reporting earlier this year that Samsung overtook Germany's Siemens in 2001 for third spot, behind Nokia and Motorola.

Gartner said Samsung had 9.6 percent of the global mobile phone market last year. Since then the company has released more of its 3G camera phones. (Full Story)

In May Samsung said it would spend $200 million on its new "DigitAll Experience" global ad campaign, which it said was designed to extend the 2001 campaign and build on its Salt Lake City Winter Olympics sponsorship.

Samsung also got a boost from the World Cup soccer tournament co-hosted by Korea and Japan during June. Sales of its plasma screens and flat-screen television sets jumped during the hugely popular tournament. (Full Story)

Last month Samsung reported a second quarter net profit of 1.92 trillion won ($1.62 billion), more than doubling the previous year's figure.

Samsung, the biggest stock on the South Korean market, closed Thursday at 324,500 won, down 2.41 percent. The broader market, measured by the Kospi, dipped 1.42 percent.