Online Influence Apparent in Best Brands of 2005

Google asserted its dominance in yet another arena of its plans to take over the world: branding. This year, the purveyor of all things online snatched the title from Apple, with Skype, Starbucks and Ikea rounding out the top five globally, according to brandchannel.com’s annual survey. Note that three of the top five global brands are online-focused or have major presences in the online world.

The survey’s summary cites Google Mini, Desktop Search and Google Earth among the company's many notable launches in 2005. Its robust but issue-plagued Google Analytics is not mentioned.

New to the brand hot list this year--and finishing a strong third worldwide---is Skype, a self-described “little program for making free calls over the internet to anyone else who also has Skype.” The service is free and downloadable from Skype.com and enables users to transfer files, IM and group chat, and set up video and conference calls. It even works with mobile or landline phones, though that portion carries a fee.

With online marketing efforts expected to encompass from 20-30 percent of marketing budgets this year, depending on budget size, it will be interesting to see which online brands make the 2006 list.

Global brand leaders by region are:

- North America: Apple
- Asia-Pacific: Sony
- Europe & Africa: Nokia
- Central & Latin America: Corona