The world’s biggest brands have missed out on $200bn (€192bn) of revenue in the past year. What could they have done better?
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00:00Yes, in 2024, we missed 200 billion US dollars in terms of revenue. People need to remember
00:07you, you always have to innovate. Customers are not looking for machines, they are looking
00:12for people.
00:19Welcome to The Big Question, the series from Euronews where we delve deep into some of
00:22the most important topics on the business agenda. I'm Hannah Brown, and today I'm joined
00:27by Gonzalo Brullo, the Global CEO and President at Interbrand. Thank you very much for joining
00:31us. Every year at Interbrand, you publish the Best Global Brands Report. Can you just
00:36give me a quick overview of what it looks like and some of the big takeaways of this
00:39year's report?
00:40Every year, we run the Best Global Brands Report to try to understand what is happening
00:46with the brands around the world, what is happening with the top companies and how they
00:50are trending on a global scale. We have been doing the report over the last 25 years, and
00:56this year is especially important for us because not only we are analyzing the 2024
01:02report, but also we are trying to see what are the key insights over the last 25 years.
01:09Companies are looking for all performance marketing. They are really concentrated on
01:13how I can sell today, today, today. And what we recommend is that the brands, they need
01:18to combine the mixed marketing strategies. It is about performance marketing, but it
01:24is also about how they can build their brand in the long run. Just in 2024, we missed US$200
01:33billion in terms of revenue. And over the last 25 years, if companies were working on
01:41performance marketing and mid-term marketing strategies and branding strategies, they could
01:47grow to US$6.9 trillion around the world. So I think the big insight this year is that
01:56companies must think on their marketing mix much better to make sure that they can really
02:03connect with customers. Customers are not looking for machines. They are looking for
02:08people. They are looking for human connection. They are looking for human experiences. They
02:13are looking for love sometimes in terms of the brands, how they can connect with these customers.
02:25So let's talk about some of the brands in the report. Who is making the top 10 and what
02:30are they doing right to get into that spot? Well, again, this year, we still have Apple
02:35as the number one brand in the ranking. Although the growth this year is a minus 3%, the results
02:41are excellent for Apple. I think Apple is trending well, has been trending well for
02:46the last 11 years. It is all about simplification. I think on artificial intelligence, Apple
02:52intelligence, they are starting probably a bit more careful than other technology companies.
03:01But I think they are doing their moves and I see next year potentially positive brand
03:06value data for Apple going forward. So what is happening right now is that companies that
03:12are investing in AI, they are trending better than others.
03:15On that point, the companies that are investing in AI are doing well. There are three car
03:20brands in the top 10. Is AI linked to their success?
03:24Well, there is 14 brands that are doing very well in the auto world right now at the ranking.
03:30Actually, this year, the most growing brand for the entire ranking is an auto brand, which
03:36is Ferrari. Over the last three years, we have seen huge, amazing improvements on the
03:42auto brands and most of them are doing very well. Although I know that auto brands will
03:48be facing complex times ahead. Why? Because they are spending, as you can imagine, in
03:53terms of electric vehicles, the entire industry is spending more than 500 billion US dollars
04:00on new technology, new factories, new ways of connecting with customers and this is beginning
04:07to be expensive. Of course, the demand is lower on electric vehicles and what is happening
04:12is that companies in the auto world will need to revise their strategies, their spending
04:18and also probably they need to narrow the products offering that they have to the market.
04:24Ferrari is the kind of top climber of the year and that Tesla is kind of one of the
04:29ones with the biggest decline. What are they doing differently to have such different results?
04:34Well, I think Ferrari is more than an auto brand. They really work hard to try to enter
04:41into different segments. Companies that are investing in different arenas or different
04:45categories this year has an increase of 6% versus the companies that are just working
04:51in a single category. So, I think this is quite important in the case of Ferrari. They
04:56are expanding into the entertainment world with new different theme parks. In the ultra-luxury,
05:04lifestyle, hotels world, they are working on a new apparel brand. So, as you can imagine,
05:11it is not only about auto but they are doing something different.
05:15In the case of Tesla, we see a 9% drop. I think Tesla has been the first category killer
05:22on EV around the world with Toyota. Both of them, they were the first ones to enter
05:27into the category historically. As you can imagine, they have this first mover opportunity
05:36but the reality is that today BMW, for example, in the European Union, sells more electric
05:41cars than Tesla. So, what is happening is that the rest of the auto brands are catching
05:47up on EV solutions to its customers. Sometimes, customers are not happy with the timings on
05:56delivery for Tesla. And last but not the least, I think in the last couple of years, I think
06:01the way that Elon Musk presented himself to the public has been very polarizing. But I
06:09think this is beginning to affect the relationship between Tesla, Elon Musk and its customers.
06:18And so, obviously, we've talked about all sorts of different brands that have been on
06:21the report this year. And overall, there has been $3.5 trillion of missed value creation
06:26collectively since 2000. What are these missed opportunities and what can brands do to achieve
06:32better growth going forward? I think today customers are quite clever.
06:37Something that is very cool about the brand is that although you think that you are growing
06:41and you are doing great, there are many brands that are no longer with us in the ranking.
06:47Brands like Nokia. At some point, they were the fifth largest brand in the ranking. So,
06:51what I'm telling brands is that be careful. You need to keep listening always to your
06:56customers, to your employees, to the financial community. You always have to innovate. You
07:01need to find your own iconic moves. What are going to be the two or three things that are
07:05going to be helping you to differentiate? So, you need to work on that. People need
07:10to remember you to make sure that they can buy you in the long run. And sometimes companies
07:15are not investing that much in marketing or in brand anymore. And I think that this is
07:21something that definitely they want to keep playing in the game. They must invest in marketing.
07:26They must invest in brands, not only in the short-term strategy, but also the mid-term.
07:31So, you need to work on parallel, a fast-track way of working with your brands, but also
07:36the mid-term strategies and the trajectory for the future in terms of the ambition, the
07:42purpose of the company. Okay. Brilliant. Well, thank you so much for
07:46those insights and thank you for joining us today on The Big Question.
07:48Thank you very much.