Google, a company that spends almost no money on
advertising, topped Millward Brown's annual 100 list for the second time in a row; in fact, the top five were unchanged year-over-year, each recording an increase in brand valuation by between 15% and
39%. Millward Brown compiles the list by combining a measure of brand equity using a survey of 100,000 consumers against a company's financial performance.
Other tech firms in the top 10 included sixth-place IBM, whose brand value increased 65% year-over-year to $55.3 billion, seventh-place Apple, whose value rose 123% to $55.2 billion, and ninth-place Nokia, up 39% to $43.9 billion.