Top 20 most valuable B2B brands revealed image

Top 20 most valuable B2B brands revealed

Microsoft is the world’s most valuable B2B brand, according to the 2016 BrandZ ranking of the top 20 most valuable B2B brands launched by WPP and Millward Brown in partnership with LinkedIn.

The technology giant grew its brand value by five per cent in the last year to $122bn, thanks to a strong performance across its cloud services and operating systems divisions. 

Huawei (11) grew 22 per cent after investing heavily in innovative new technologies such as software-defined networks and cloud solutions that enable business agility. Efforts to raise brand awareness in Europe, including the signing of A-list movie actors and footballer Lionel Messi as brand ambassadors, were also successful.

Accenture (seven) transformed itself from an outsourcing company to an innovative tech brand by embracing emerging digital technologies including cloud, mobile and analytics, and gained market share by enhancing its global delivery network.

SAP (six) improved the customer experience with a hybrid on-premise/cloud offering that supports the full enterprise workflow, when many competitors’ approaches are still siloed.

The performance of the top 20 reflects the challenges faced by the B2B sector over the last year, including financial pressures caused by slowing economies. Issues such as the pace of digitalisation, the battle to attract talent and the changing B2B audience made it harder to retain customers, differentiate from competitors and engage decision-makers.

Christina Jenkins, LinkedIn’s director, global go-to-market research said: “The importance of being a strong brand extends beyond the end-user. B2B businesses are in a constant battle with consumer companies to hire the best employees. The brands that convey a positive impression about themselves, and in particular their ability to innovate, are more likely to be considered as potential employers.”

Top 20 most valuable B2B brands

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