Record breaking success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens pushes Disney to top of Brand Finance table.
Disney has been named as the world’s most powerful brand in the annual Brand Finance Global 500 listing.
Meanwhile, Apple remains as the world’s most valuable brand, according to Brand Finance’s analysis for 2016.
Disney has a value of $31.7 billion, according to the report, with its dominant position thanks to acquisitions including the likes of Pixar, The Muppets and Marvel.
But it is Star Wars – and the success of The Force Awakens – that most attributed to Disney toppling LEGO from the top position.
Brand Finance has estimated the value of the Star Wars brand to be $10 billion, dwarfing the $4.05 billion that Disney paid for Lucasfilm in 2012.
The Force Awakens is nearing the $2 billion mark at the global box office, with toy sales in the US alone generating over $700 million.
LEGO, is at number two on the listing, retaining its AAA+ brand rating, although Brand Finance said that it had been ‘beset by a series of controversies of late which threaten to affect its wholesome image’. These include being fined by German regulators for attempting to prevent retailers from discounting its products.
However, brand strength/power is only the initial part of Brand Finance’s analysis. Using its Brand Strength Index assessment, it determines a royalty rate for each brand, which is then applied to revenue information to calculate its value.
In terms of brand value, Apple comes out top, followed by Google, Samsung, Amazon and Microsoft.
