Italian Brands Score Highly in Health in BrandZ Ranking
Gucci leads the first BrandZ Top 30 Most Valuable Italian 2018 Brands ranking released by WPP and Kantar Millward Brown.
It is one of the seven luxury brands to feature in this ground-breaking study, which tracks and addresses the changing environment for brands in Italy and charts the fortunes of the country’s most successful brands.
Gucci tops the ranking with a brand value of US $16.3 billion/£11.8 billion, followed by telecom provider brand TIM at US $9.3 billion/£6.7 billion and energy company Enel in third place at US $7.4 billion/£5.3 billion. Coming in at number four is food and dairy brand Kinder at US $6.9 billion/£5 billion, with Prada taking the final spot in the Top 5 at US $4 billion/£2.9 billion.
“Italian engineering, design and creativity are powering world-class Italian brands, both young and old. The BrandZ Italian Top 30 reflects Italy’s tradition of businesses built by craftspeople and experts with great vision and determination; whether it is applied to everyday items such as Barilla pasta, the finest clothes and accessories, or the quality engineering needed to create the latest Ferrari or a new yacht,” says David Roth, CEO EMEA and Asia, The Store WPP.
There are seven leading luxury brands in the Italian Top 30. Together, Gucci, Prada, Armani, Bottega Veneta, Bulgari, Fendi and Ferragamo contribute US $28.9 billion/£20.8 billion to the total brand value of the ranking.
Within the automotive industry, Ferrari revs ahead with its brand representation of performance driving. The concentration of premium brands is in contrast with Spain’s focus on affordable fashion and Germany’s concentration on technology and engineering.
“Italy’s skill at developing premium luxury brands lends the ranking a distinctive feel, but the country has many more strong names in sectors that are less celebrated, from Oil and Gas, to Financial Services, to Cruise operators” says Massimo Costa, WPP Italy Country Manager.
Food and dairy brands are the next dominant category, making up 15% of total brand value at US $13.1 billion/£9.4 billion. Amongst the six brands ranked, three were from the Ferrero Group, namely Kinder, Nutella and Ferrero Rocher. The total value of the brands in the BrandZ Top 30 is US $85.3 billion/£61.5 billion.
Italian brands are typically rated very Healthy, meaning they score highly across the five brand indicators of Health, which comprises Purpose, Innovation, Communications, Experience and Love.
Brands in the BrandZ Italy Top 30 scored particularly well for Purpose and Communications.
However, as with other European markets, innovation is a challenge that brands need to act upon. Only 17% of the BrandZ™ Italy Top 30 are perceived as Innovative by consumers.
Innovation, when value is created in new and different ways, is one of the hardest measures to build but the one that creates the most value. On average, Italian brands that are perceived as Innovative are nearly twice as valuable versus others, with an average brand value of US $3.4 billion/£2.5 billion versus US $1.8 billion/£1.3 billion.
WPP and Kantar Millward Brown recently released the BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable German Brands as well.
