View the full Brand Finance Telecoms 150 2022 report here
Verizon is the most valuable telecoms brand of 2022, according to the latest report by leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance. With its brand value increasing marginally by 1% to US$69.6 billion, Verizon has retained its position at the top of the telecoms league table.
Every year, Brand Finance puts 5,000 of the biggest brands to the test, and publishes nearly 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries. The world’s top 150 most valuable and strongest telecoms brands are included in a dedicated industry ranking – the Brand Finance Telecoms 150 2022.
Verizon faced significant brand challenges with the deployment of 5G infrastructure services creating concerns about the potential impact on aircraft. However, the American telecoms operator has overcome the technical issues and is further growing its brand in using wireless technology to deliver high-speed internet services into homes. The fixed point-to-point services aim to provide fast internet speeds to compete with wired competitors. As a relatively new channel to provide home internet services, Verizon’s fixed wireless service is competing with long-established home internet services delivered over physical wires.
David Haigh, Chairman & CEO of Brand Finance, commented:
“Verizon remains the world’s most valuable telecoms brand because customers know and understand what the brand means. It started life as one of the Baby Bells and has grown up to become the world’s leading telecommunications brand as the global market leader.”
Deutsche Telekom rises to second place
Meanwhile, just behind Verizon, Deutsche Telekom (brand valueup 18% to US$60.2 billion) has improved to become the second-most valuable telecoms brand in the world, overtaking AT&T (brand value down 8% to US$47 billion). Deutsche Telekom is moving to consolidate its brands globally by introducing a new logo which has the potential to unify its “T” branding across both its T Mobile and Deutsche Telekom divisions internationally. Initially, the letter “T” will dominate digital channels and sponsorships, with the eventual deployment of “T” collateral into physical buildings and retail outlets.
Since 2020, Deutsche Telekom’s brand value has gone up by over 50% in total. Successful business performance and high customer growth, especially in the United States, are the main contributors to this significant increase. In addition, the Group again scored points through sustained investments in network quality, digital technologies, and customer service. In addition to being the second-most valuable brand globally in telecoms, Deutsche Telekom is also the second-most valuable brand in Europe amongst all industries, only marginally behind Mercedes-Benz amongst all European brands.
David Haigh, Chairman & CEO of Brand Finance, commented:
“The unification of Deutsche Telekom’s branding internationally offers an opportunity to strengthen the brand amongst different consumer groups. This will allow the T brand to spread across various jurisdictions and benefit from globalized efficiencies – especially as it transitions from a challenger-brand in the US to become an established market leader as it is in Germany and some other European jurisdictions.”
China Telecom Enters Top 10
Elsewhere, China Telecom (brand value up 38% to US$18.4 billion) improved its ranking to become the 10th most valuable telecoms brand in the world. The brand added almost 11.5 million net subscribers and now serves 362 million users, creating significant brand value based on forecast future growth as modern telecoms services spread throughout China.
Iliad Italia is telecommunication’s fastest-growing brand
A smaller brand, but growing rapidly, is Iliad Italia (brand value up 109% to $US447 million) which is this year’s fastest growing brand in the Brand Finance Telecoms 150 2022 league table.
Iliad’s growth is being driven by its ability to create a loyal base through a great value for money offer, its ease of dealing with, and its honest and open attitude. Since launch in mid-2018 service revenues are growing quickly and the brand now has 10% market share in the mobile market. Iliad serves more than 8 million subscribers, serviced by 8,500 retail sites, and plans to expand to up to 12,500 sites by the end of 2023. After having created a loyal customer base they are now launching their fixed offer which builds a base for a strong outlook going forward. Iliad’s recent moves, such as the proposed takeover of Vodafone Italian business, speaks to the ambition of the player to become a real threat for the big three in Italy.
The second fastest growing telecoms brand in the rankings is Moov (brand value up 104% to US$453 million) which is another new entrant to Telecoms 150 2022 rankings and part of e&, formerly known as the Etisalat group. This surge in brand value is correlated with the rebranding of its eleven subsidiaries in Africa as Moov Africa at the beginning of last year to benefit from broader synergies from e&.
Etisalat is world’s strongest telecoms brand
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance. Certified by ISO 20671, Brand Finance’s assessment of stakeholder equity incorporates original market research data from over 100,000 respondents in more than 35 countries and across nearly 30 sectors.
According to these criteria, Etisalat (brand value up 18% to US$10.1 billion) is the world’s strongest telecoms brand, and the strongest brand in the Middle East & Africa across all industry sectors with a brand strength score of 89.2 out of 100 and a corresponding AAA rating. Expo 2020 offered Etisalat the platform to demonstrate itself as a strategic enabler of the UAE's digital transformation. Etisalat’s focus on enhancing customer experience and living the ethos of “Together Matters” helped the brand to increase its BSI score by 1.8 points, breaking into the top 20 strongest brands globally, claiming 18th place.
Etisalat has subsequently released a new brand strategy related to the launch of broader group identity under the name e&. The group now faces the challenge of transferring equity to the new brand over the course of 2022.
David Haigh, Chairman & CEO of Brand Finance, commented:
“Etisalat’s brand strength is driven by product innovation and delivering on customer needs. Delivering the fastest mobile network in the world is a massive achievement by Etisalat, and their core stakeholders recognize the brand’s ability to deliver impressive performance.”
View the full Brand Finance Telecoms 150 2022 report here
Note to Editors
Every year, leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance puts 5,000 of the biggest brands to the test, and publishes nearly 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries. The world’s top 150 most valuable and strongest telecoms brands are included in the inaugural Brand Finance Telecoms 150 ranking.
Brand value is understood as the net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market. Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors.
The full ranking, additional insights, charts, more information about the methodology, and definitions of key terms are available in the Brand Finance Telecoms 150 2022 report.
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.
