Interbrand have just published their best global brands survey for 2006, and it makes interesting reading from a mobile perspective. First off, none of the operators appear because they are not seen by Interbrand as “at present none of these brands fulfil the ‘global’ criteria.” The six mobile businesses that make it into the top 100 are:

• Nokia (6)
• Disney (8)
• Samsung (20)
• Sony (26)
• MTV (50)
• Motorola (69)

Of these, four are handset manufacturers and two run MVNOs. Nokia’s position at the top reflects their absolute dominance of the handset market world-wide. Motorola, although the world’s number two handset manufacturer, is pipped to the post in brand value by Samsung and Sony, who both benefit from their strength in non-mobile products.

Although brand synergies have long been known about Sony – indeed that was the primary rationale behind the Sony Ericsson merger – this is not normally considered a key factor for Samsung, and their strength should be of considerable concern to Motorola, whose brand value has grown by 18% over the last year, considerably bolstered by the continued success of the stylish RAZR, but still languishes considerably behind Samsung. If Motorola are going to retain their number two spot in the mobile handset market it, they are going to have to continue to grow their brand value. In 2004, shortly before the first RAZR was launched, Samsung nudged ahead of Motorola’s handset sales for the first time, and this survey suggests that we may see Samsung a the long term winners.

Virgin was unfortunately not included in the survey because of a lack of information, so it’s only Disney and MTV competing for the MVNO crown. Disney, with their newly launched services attracting subscribers in both the UK and USA, have by far the most valuable brand, and it is hard to see how the national operators will be able to compete with these international MVNOs.

The presence of four handset businesses in the top 100 alone shows that the power in the industry is still primarily with the manufacturers rather than the network operators, and the increasing entry by top brands as MVNOs is putting the operators under yet more pressure.

And the challenge is already great: with churn still at close to 30% and people choosing their handset on the basis brand, there is little to suggest that mobile operator’s brands are strong enough to really make a difference. Even with some of biggest marketing budgets and most expensive sponsorship deals ever, the operator’s brands are still way behind those of their competitors.

If I was a Marketing Director at an operator I think I’d be considering a few well placed phone calls to those top brands that do not yet have MVNOs. Based on Interband’s 2006 survey, my list of top brands that do not yet have an MVNO, but which could compellingly launch one are:

1. Coca-Cola
2. Toyota
3. McDonalds
4. Mercedes
5. Citi
6. Marlborough
7. American Express
8. BMW
9. Gillette
10. Louis Vuitton

Now where did I put those phone numbers?

Original Source: Mobile Strategies