§ Total value of Top 100 Singapore brands in 2018 has increased to US$45.0 billion, up 5% from US$42.6 billion in 2017.
§ DBS retains the #1 Most Valuable Singapore Brand for the 6th year in 2018 with an increase of the brand strength.
§ Singtel has managed to squeeze its way past DBS and Singapore Airlines to be the strongest brand in Singapore with AAA- Brand Strength rating
§ Top 10 brands contribute 59% of the total value while Bottom 50 brands contribute only 5% of the total value.
Every year, leading brand valuation and brand strategy consultancy Brand Finance puts thousands of the world’s top brands to the test, evaluating which are the most powerful and valuable at a global level and also in Singapore by way of publishing the Brand Finance Top 100 Singapore Brands for the 11th year.
Formidable Three
The three local banks have been performing well for several years and again in 2018, we see no other contenders being able to challenge the top three spots and it’s also unlikely that DBS, with US$ 6.4 billion brand value, will be dethroned from the top of the Brand Finance Top 100 Most Valuable Singapore Brands table for a while unless OCBC of UOB go for a big acquisition or the 3 airline brands are merged together.
OCBC and UOB again finish second and third with a brand value of US$4.02 billion and US$3.74 billion. Notably, OCBC brand rating has dropped this year allowing Singtel and Starhub to be ahead.
The 3 banks have contributed 31% of the total brand value in Singapore, up from a marginal increase from 30% last year. The growth is in line with other financial brands around the world.
The Focus on Brand Strength
The brand strength, measured by Brand Strength Index (‘BSI’ shows that the average BSI of the Top 100 brands has improved by approximately 5% from 70.7 in 2017 to 74.9 this year. Most brands however have remained stagnant in terms of their brand strength and while they may be doing well locally, they have been losing out to some of the key competitors in the region as they lack competitiveness outside of Singapore market.
Singtel is named the strongest brand in 2018 and one of the three brands with triple-A brand rating, along with DBS and Singapore Airlines. OCBC has loses its triple-A brand rating and has dropped behind the 3 brands and Starhub.
Brand Highlights
Starhub and Singapore Petroleum Company, with 24% and 12% brand value growth, made their way into the top 10, replacing Frasers Centrepoint and ComfortDelGro, both operating in tough industries with increasing competition and market fragmentations coupled with not so favourable business conditions over the past couple of years.
ComfortDelGro missed the top 10 spot by a narrow margin, with brand value decrease of -12% pushing the company to finish at 11th place.
Samir Dixit, Managing Director of Brand Finance Asia Pacific highlighted that unless the companies have a strong brand agenda and are managing the strength of their brand and the brand value in a concentrated manner, we will continue to see the large year on year variations in brand value, brand strength and brand rankings”.
Samir continues to highlight that “The big problem is, majority of the Singapore companies don’t have the top management focus on brand. It’s just a lip service. Brand value growth forms a significant part of their shareholder returns yet most companies don’t even know what their brand value is, leave alone managing it”.
“While the Singapore brands have grown considerably well overall, it is the brand strength for most brands that still remains a concern. Also, the rankings still remains very top heavy with 59% of the total brand value contributed by the Top 10 brands and 95% contributed by the Top 50 brands. We would like to see a more diverse mix at the top and more significant value increase at the bottom which means other brands must start focusing on their value and brand strength.” Added Samir.
Samir Dixit also challenged the Singapore companies to be more brand-driven and not sales or offers-driven. While the sales focus helps in the short term, it destroys the long-term value and the strength of the brand. Brand has to be a strategic agenda for the senior management and boards and must be managed like any other business asset and not just a legal trademark.”
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Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance for more than 25 years, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organizations of all kinds make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance has offices in over 20 countries, offering services on all continents. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 5,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on over 5,000 brands, surveying more than 150,000 respondents across 38 countries and 31 industry sectors. Combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database enables Brand Finance to arm brand leaders with the data and analytics they need to enhance brand and business value.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm, leading the standardization of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
