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Facebook No. 69 On Interbrand 2012 Best Global Brand Study

Facebook remains at odds with investors as the stock price falters from its IPO highs, but overall Facebook remains in favor with many site members. In fact, this year the social network enters The Interbrand 2012 Best Global Brand report at No. 69. And in the pockets of advertisers, improving Facebook ads effectiveness could raise the value of the brand even more.

Attempting to prove the effectiveness of its $3.7 billion annual ad business model, reports peg Facebook as using member data from its site to study links between Facebook ads and shopping habits at
brick-and-mortar stores. And while advertisers may love making the connection, it's not clear how members will react.

In the Best Global Brand report, Facebook beat well-loved brands like Tiffany & Co., 70; Burberry, 82; Starbucks, 88 -- but not MTV at 67; eBay, 36; UPS, 27; H&M, 23; Mercedes-Benz, 11; Intel, 8; Microsoft, 5; Google, 4; Apple 2; and Coca-Cola, 1.

Requirements for inclusion in the ranking include the requirement that at least 30% of revenues must come from outside the brand's home country.

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Challenges for Facebook in 2013 include reviving activity and loyalty among its early adopters, specifically in traditional markets, and developing a profit model that’s different from its current advertising revenue model. Considering the ubiquity of Facebook and consumers’ reliance on this service, the saving grace will rely on a mobile strategy.

Facebook gained popularity by becoming the thread woven through the fabric of campaigns and everyday life, similar to Google search and mobile phones. Don't believe me? Count the number of times you see the word "Facebook" in emails, hear the name on television or radio, and read it on a billboard or in a brochure.

Facebook's IPO in May was the third largest IPO in U.S. history, and the seventh largest globally. A faltering stock price hasn't slowed adoption. With almost a billion people on Facebook globally, the negative activity around the IPO didn't appear to have affected the brand's growth.

Migration of users to its mobile platform grew by 67% year-on-year. The migration to mobile has resulted in one-third of Facebook users spending less time on the traditional site than they were just six months ago, which means that ad model attempting to tie a link between Facebook ads and sales in brick-and-mortar stores will need to move toward mobile. The company will need to make its mobile platform profitable through data, ad targeting, and/or ecommerce.

 

 

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