Made in the USA: Interbrand's 2011 Top 10 Global Brands are All American

For the first time I can remember, the top 10 entries in Interbrand's Best Global Brands report are American:

1. Coca-Cola (Atlanta, GA) $71.8B
2. IBM (Armonk, NY) $69.9B
3. Microsoft (Redmond, WA) $59B
4. Google (Mountain View, CA) $55.3B
5. General Electric (Fairfield, CT) $42.8B
6. McDonald's (Oak Brook, IL) $35.5B
7. Intel (Santa Clara, CA) $35.2B
8. Apple (Cupertino, CA) $33.4B
9. Disney (Burbank, CA) $29B
10. Hewlett-Packard (Palo Alto, CA) $28.4B

And what's really interesting to me is that five of those are Californian. Hang Ten indeed, dude.

Seems every day we read and hear about how much our world has shrunk since the advent of the web and advances in mobile. But with Nokia's slide from #5 in 2009 to #8 last year, and then down to a worrisome #14 this year — in addition to Toyota's departure from the top 10 in 2010 and ongoing safety woes in 2011 — it's all Star Spangled banners yet waving in that rarified air.

What's behind this year's uniquely Yank complexion? Coincidence? Perhaps, but I subscribe to the belief that due to our worldwide economic plague, the brands best able to claim or retain top rankings are those with a total commitment to nimble innovation and drive to build ever-stronger customer relationships.

When you're running an organization that fits that description, you're the first to abandon the processes, partners, and products that don't fulfill expectations in lieu of something better. The benefits of a short memory and no allegiance to "the way it's always been done," you might say. And that's a uniquely American (or by my posit above, Californian) way of thinking.

Seven of the top 10 brands hail from the technology sector, which might corroborate my point. Or how 'bout this: the shining example in my opinion is Apple, which registered a mind-blowing 58% rise in brand value in 2011 — that on the heels of a 37% increase in 2010 and a 12% jump in '09. To put these impressive numbers in context, the second-largest rise in this report's top 10 was seen by Google, which grew 27% last year. After the search giant, Intel's growth of 10% comes in third as far as year-over-year increases go. And just to showcase the widely reported difference in design/development philosophy between Apple and rival Microsoft, Gates's group actually went minus-3% (yet held on to the #3 spot for the third report in a row).

"By refining digital strategies and strengthening social networks, today's most valuable brands are creating more relevant customer engagements," said Jez Frampton, Interbrand's Global CEO. "These brands have seized opportunities to host richer, more tailored experiences, which, in turn, help drive longer-term loyalty and value among consumers and partners alike."

After two years of down-economy talk and socio-political punditry about the death of American business, I'm elated to see how well our top brands — namely the tech sector's best — are actually improving their ranks and growing in value.

Or to quote Jez: "Consistency, relevance and commitment are imperative if a brand is to keep pace in our rapidly changing world." Sounds oddly familiar.