To put the Coca-Cola's "disappointing" quarter into perspective: The brand's net income in the third quarter was $1.9 billion (about 81 cents per share), up from $1.89 billion a year earlier. By volume, its overall sales still climbed 2% (after a 4% rise in the second quarter and a 2% rise in the first).

But is Coke in trouble? Granted, the brand is an icon and will never be gone. But even as sales of carbonated soda drinks (like Coke) rose1% in the quarter, those snazzier drinks the kids like so much, like Vitaminwater, rose 7%.Continue reading...

How does a retailer lure shoppers into stores when consumers are resigned not to spend? Clothing retailer H&M has managed to increase sales 13% in the last quarter, thanks to consumers "attracted to markdowns," announcing a 4% profit last quarter. Despite an 11% like-for-like decline in August sales, the discounter's recession-friendly proposition of fast fashion at affordable prices aided the brand's rise in Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2009, gaining 11% in Brand Value and jumping up one spot, to 21. 

According to the Interbrand, H&M plans to add up to 7,000 new jobs and open 225 new stores worldwide. The brand plans aggressive expansion into the Asia-Pacific and Russian markets, which have weathered the economic crisis better than some regions, and should be welcoming. In Japan, consumers have shown a cultural shift away from status obsession, and are now much more open to affordable brands. Continue reading...

It’s no surprise that the Coke, number one brand in Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2009, is moving more aggressively into the digital marketplace. Coca-Cola's longtime success owes much to their ability reach customers in ways that go way beyond the actual product.

Pepsi, who has targeted younger cola fans for decades with pop-culture icons from Michael Jackson to Britney Spears, is ahead of Coke in online branding—and not just for the under-21 texting crowd. The brand is launching Pepsi We Inspire, a digital community intended for African-American moms. Pepsi understands that, especially in the long-tail world of the Internet, there’s no single “Pepsi Generation.” Continue reading...

Will iPhone apps that help you find local stores or place mobile orders help the struggling Starbucks brand recover?

After 16 years of dominance, and escalating growth, the chain has encountered a drop in sales, a loss of control over brand identity, and been forced to shutter nearly 600 stores. Starbucks dropped five places, to 90, in Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2009 report, losing 16% of Brand Value amidst competition from McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts and local coffee shops.

Despite these setbacks, the brand isn't throwing in the towel. The retailer has rallied since bottoming out in November 2008 (to their credit, it was a rough month all around), and worked to reposition. Two new iPhone applications are intended to augment the customer experience: The myStarbucks application allows customers to build and share drink recipes, find the nearest Starbucks, and look up nutritional information. 

But the real spark of ingenuity comes in the Starbucks Card Mobile application, which lets customers manage their Starbucks gift card, check and refill their balance, and make store purchases. A trial version in 16 locations offers customers the option to pay using their iPhone mobile devices. Continue reading...

IRI Times and Trends reports an explosion of brand equity for private labels:

Private label unit share has grown 1.2 points to 22.8 percent and dollar share has grown 0.7 points to 17.6 percent across all outlets in the past 12 months.

Safeway’s O Organics and Supervalu’s Wild Harvest now approach established brand name packaged goods in value. Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2009 report cites Wal-Mart, Tesco, Carrefour and Target as private label brand leaders, but also notes a great deal of missed opportunity:

Many retailers are still following the tired and expected formula of emulating national brands, rather than learning from the successful European model of developing a new vernacular and creating destination brands in their own right.Continue reading...

It's hard to believe, but the US economic recession has been a boon for South Korean automaker Hyundai. The economy car maker has not only secured its market share, but topped its August 2008 sales by 47 percent (while total industry sales were up 1 percent). The company has shown good stewardship of its customers and product line, making trust and reassurance integral to Hyundai's brand identity.

But how did Hyundai change its image as "a reasonable alternative to purchasing a used car" to a modest alternative to Lexus and Cadillac?

This year, Hyundai has been buoyed by the success of its new higher-end model, the Genesis,  The company's first $30,000-plus sedan won Car of the Year honors at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Its sales were bolstered by "inconspicuous luxury" consumers wanting to appear "that they, too, are cutting back," the New York Times reports.Continue reading...

How big an asset is being an established tech brand? Apparently, in a sector where "the role of brand is falling," according to Interbrand, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in great shape.

Dell, one of many brands suffering a drop in value over last year, is 35 on Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2009 rankings, but dropped 12% in Brand Value, and is no longer the go-to personal computing company. (That would now be HP.) The annual report blames Dell’s "failure to fully adopt netbooks as a flagship product in timely manner."

But Interbrand also points to "Dell’s track record of successful branding and efforts to cater more directly to needs of customers," praise vindicated by Dell's announcement yesterday of its acquisition of Perot Systems, an IT services provider with deep roots in electronic health records, a potential beneficiary of healthcare reform.Continue reading...

Jeff Bezos may not have realized how prophetic the name Amazon would be. Having conquered the online book market, reports the New York Times, "Amazon is set to cross a significant threshold" to become the Wal-Mart of the web. By the end of 2009, Amazon's worldwide sales of general merchandise will exceed the books, music and movies Amazon is known for.

“Amazon’s expansion strategy has allowed it, almost alone among retailers, to thrive during the recession, even while its own media business has stagnated,” says The Times. In July, Amazon acquired rising shoe retailer Zappos.com, and will soon expand its private label business into cables and media discs.Continue reading...

Will Barclays lead the next generation of global financial brands? Barclays president Robert E. Diamond Jr. says so: "Our aim is clear: to be the premier global investment bank." The new Best Global Brands 2009 report from brandchannel's parent Interbrand calls the bank a "brand to watch," but the WSJ reports it has a few hurdles to clear before claiming ascendancy.

Relatively fresh-faced, Barclays has weathered the economic crisis with not just a strong balance sheet, but an increased reputation. Despite its failed attempt to save Lehman, the bank is viewed positively for absorbing many of Lehman employees.Continue reading...

In a matter of weeks, GM's Saturn brand will be sold to Penske Automotive Group at a firesale price. Introduced in 1985, Saturn was thought to symbolize GM’s bold innovation, but turned out to be a giant money-loser and the “biggest fiasco in automotive history since Ford brought out the Edsel,” according to former GM director Jerome York.

Saturn's woes may have been masked by the industry's generally dismal performance during the current downturn. According to Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2009 report, “the economic crisis made 2008 the automotive industry’s worst year since 1992.” The report lists only one American automobile company in the top 100: Ford at number 49. But even Ford lost a swoon-inducing 11% of its Brand Value, and all automakers but luxury brand Ferrari saw declines.Continue reading...

Nike was a winner in Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2009, gaining 4% in Brand Value.

One of several companies to break through the recession-year clutter with promotions that built an emotional bond, Nike teamed up with Apple (up a dazzling 12%, cracking the BGB top 20 for the first time) for the virtual-but-actual Human Race, in which runners from all over the world race locally, but are connected globally via the iPod-based Nike+ running system.Continue reading...

While 2009 was rough for many brands, none lost more ground in Interbrand's Best Global Brands study this year than UBS, down 50% in Brand Value, an index that factors in brand revenue, brand earnings, and a measure of brand strength. (To be fair, Citigroup's decline of 49% is about as steep.)

So, should UBS drop its name and revive "Paine Webber"? Has "UBS" become the ValuJet of finance?

CNBC's Charlie Gasparino and The Business Insider's John Carney both expect the beleaguered Swiss bank to rebrand. Each has suggested that if former Merrill Lynch brokerage chief Robert McCann convinces a court to let him break his non-compete agreement with former employer Bank of America to head UBS's brokerage unit, he will rename it Paine Webber, the retired name of the stock brokerage and asset management firm UBS aquired in 2000. Initially, the merged conglomerate was called "UBS PaineWebber"; in 2003 "Paine Webber" was dropped in place of "UBS Wealth Management USA." Continue reading...

The big branding story of the past year's recession has been the threat to the luxury category. Luxury, once thought recession-proof, seemed in danger this time around because of the broadening appeal of discount brands.

As Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2009 report, released today, observes:

In Western markets, the rise of the hi-lo consumers -- people who save on what is less relevant to them so they can indulge in what they find to be truly meaningful -- has made discount shopping not a sad compromise, but a joyful form of smart allocation.

Despite this pressure, the brand value of the luxury category in the Interbrand study actually grew in 2009. Individual brands were happy to stay flat in this environment, with Hermes up one percent, Gucci down one, and Prada and Louis Vuitton down two percent. (In the automotive sector, Ferrari was the only brand that didn't lose value.) Companies that had diluted their brand equity with moves toward the mainstream, like Armani and Tiffany, lost more ground. Continue reading...