• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, October 26, 2011

No one ever disputed the ability of Google employees to market stuff and create buzz. But it will take more than a well-honed message to deliver value, or at least perceived value. It takes products that work for the masses. 

The General Sentiment Custom Media Value Report (MVR), released Wednesday, measures the purchase equivalent value of brands determined by sentiment, frequency and exposure of news mentions and social dialogue.

For Google, the report puts a $270,558 value in the News Media category; $490,179 value on Social Media mentions; and $156,647 value on Twitter mentions. The biggest influence for Google comes from its intent to purchase Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. The company announced plans in mid-August. The acquisition allows Google to gain patents and control of the hardware for its Android operating system. The company also announced its intentions to acquire survey company Zagat less than a month after announcing Motorola. The study also points to the growth of Google's Facebook competitor, Google Plus, as a contributing factor for the high number in the Social Media category.

Apple followed with $251.191 value on News Media; $390,186 value on Social Media; and $111,746 value on Twitter mentions. Apple's Impact Media Value fell 16% sequentially in the third quarter, according to the report. Apple did not announce or release any high-profile products during Q3, but the company's existing products performed well, generating a quarterly profit increase of 125%. The report points to Apple's success in August, pushing it past Exxon as the most valuable public company worldwide. This quarter marked the transition for Apple with the resignation of CEO Steve Jobs, and his subsequent death.

Microsoft took the No. 3 spot, putting $70,258 value on News Media; a $263,667 value on Social Media; and a $39,044 value on Twitter mentions. News Media coverage about Microsoft dropped sharply in Q3, resulting in a significant decrease in total sequential Impact Media Value, according to the report. The company revealed its revamped Windows operating system in September, emphasizing mobile compatibilities, but the announcement of the Windows 8 platform generated less Impact Media Value than an announcement from Google or Apple.

Rounding out the top five spots, Hewlett-Packard came in at No. 4 with a total combined value of $258,181; followed by Yahoo with $212,592 total combined value.

While Apple fell further behind Google in Impact Media Value sequentially, Hewlett-Packard and Yahoo moved to positions No. 4 and No. 5.  Both companies were in flux as a result of CEO firings in September. The remaining four brands in the top nine were Samsung, Sony, Intel, and Oracle. Disney took No. 10, as the only non-technology or electronics company in the top tier.

When it comes to perceived value, the top ten losers include Panasonic, UBS, Nescafe, Goldman Sachs, Colgate, Microsoft, L'Oreal, Heinz, Credit Suisse, and Thomson Reuters. The report explains that Perception Value isolates the effects of brand sentiment by assigning positive value to positive mentions and negative value to negative mentions. Neutral mentions are not given value. Perception Value measures the brand with a focus on the quality of the exposure created.