Vodafone named UK’s most valuable brand for fifth year running
Telecoms firm sees off all challengers as it maintains its place at top of the Kantar BrandZ league table of Most Valuable UK Brands.
Bulletproof Vodafone remains impervious to all challengers in the latest Kantar BrandZ report
Vodafone’s brand value grew 6% in the last year, up to £33bn, as it retained its crown as Britain’s most valuable brand. Shrugging aside stagnating brand growth in the face of rising inflation, it kept domestic rivals in their place despite a strong challenge from HSBC and Shell, both of which raised their brand capital by over 10% to claim second and third place on the Kantar Most Valuable UK Brands table with a brand value of $18bn and $17bn respectively.
Another bright spot came in the form of Barclays, which entered the top 10 for the first time on the back of a healthy 6% uplift in brand value to $7bn – sufficient to scrape into the 10th position.
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Good news is otherwise hard to come by, however, amid a broader picture of British decline against global competitors. Kantar’s latest report saw the collective worth of the UK’s top 75 brands rise 1% year-on-year to hit $282.9bn – far below the 23% growth posted by the world’s top 100 brands, suggesting that the UK is ceding ground to international competitors.
Making sense of it all, Dom Boyd, the managing director of Kantar Insights UK, said: “Last year, UK brands were recovering from the impact of Covid-19, but that bounce back is now stuttering as inflation takes hold. During times of heightened uncertainty like we have now, building your brand is vital to protect and enhance customer growth. We need to see marketing teams maneuvering to increase value and market share. This is not the time for businesses to be hunkering down or pulling back from campaigns.
“Businesses often think that inflation means a race to the bottom, but we know that what matters to consumers when inflation bites is not the lowest price, but which brand offers the best value. Kantar data shows even price-conscious consumers pay 14% more for brands that they think are worth it.”
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With inflation wreaking havoc on the economy, a quarter of the UK’s top 75 were found to charge a higher price for their products and services than their brand can sustain, raising the prospect of significant reversals in consumer cachet should no action be taken.
Analyzing performance by sector, Kantar reports a mixed performance for retail brands, singling out Pets at Home for having capitalized on a Covid-19 boom in pet ownership to introduce services such as on-site vets and grooming, elevating it into the top 75 for the first time.
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The banking sector is also the seat of significant change, reaping the rewards of investment and crypto services, with financial brand Revolut up from 72nd to 15th position for example.
Last year’s brand value picture was colored by the tentative pandemic recovery when Vodafone had an estimated value of $30.9bn.
BrandZ top 10
Vodafone ($32.779bn)
HSBC ($17.861bn)
Shell ($17.104bn)
BT ($12.212bn)
BP ($11.509bn)
Sky ($10.654bn)
Lipton ($10.567bn)
Tesco ($9.911bn)
Johnnie Walker ($9.343bn)
Barclays ($6.894bn)