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STUDY: COKE IS NO. 1 BRAND

NEW YORK -- Coca-Cola is the most valuable global brand for the second year in a row, according to a new ranking.The brand's value is $69.6 billion, up 1% from 2001, according to "The World's Most Valuable Brands," a ranking of the Top 100 global brands. The report was conducted by Interbrand, a brand consultancy here, and BusinessWeek.Brands on the list cut across all industries, including consumer

NEW YORK -- Coca-Cola is the most valuable global brand for the second year in a row, according to a new ranking.

The brand's value is $69.6 billion, up 1% from 2001, according to "The World's Most Valuable Brands," a ranking of the Top 100 global brands. The report was conducted by Interbrand, a brand consultancy here, and BusinessWeek.

Brands on the list cut across all industries, including consumer packaged goods, technology and consumer electronics. Their rankings were based on brand value. Determining this included figuring out how much a brand is likely to earn in the future. This amount is then discounted to a present value based on how risky the projected earnings are, according to BusinessWeek.

Coca-Cola was joined on the list by several other consumer packaged goods brands. Brand values for the majority of CPG brands on the list increased, which Interbrand said reconfirms that consumer product brands tend to hold their own in a recession.

Brands that excelled the most were those that put customers first, according to Interbrand. Such brands effectively communicated with customers in a brand-focused way.

The right brand extensions also played a role. Nivea (No. 91), from Germany-based Beiersdorf, posted a 16% increase to $2.06 billion. The survey attributed this to the brand's focus on natural ingredients and family values, along with its extension into men's products.

Other CPG brands on the list include Marlboro (No. 9), whose value increased 10%; Gillette (19), down 2%; Nescafe (22), down 3%; Budweiser (24), up 5%; Heinz (37), up 4%; Kellogg (40), up 3%; Pepsi (45), up 3%; Kleenex (55), down 1%; Wrigley's (57), up 5%; Colgate (59), up 1%; and Kraft (65), up 1%. Only products that carry the exact brand name on the list are included. This means that only the Coca-Cola brand qualifies, not any of the company's other brands.

Interbrand attributes the strong performance of most consumer brands to their strong focus on branding.

"These companies are more cognizant of what a brand can do," Jeffrey Parkhurst, managing director of brand valuation, Interbrand, told Brand Marketing. "They're dedicated to branding."