Google is now viewed as the world's most valuable brand after removing Apple from the top spot which it held for three years. The results are from a recent Millward Brown survey that shows Apple's brand value dropped by about 20 percent to about $148 billion, while Google went up 40 percent equating to $159 billion.




Benoit Tranzer, the head of Millward Brown France explains, “Google has been extremely innovative this year with Google Glass, investments in artificial intelligence and a range of partnerships.”

“All these activities send a very strong signal to consumers about the essence of Google,” Tranzer said.

But the BrandZ survey wasn’t just about the big names according to MarketWatch. One of the fastest climbers among technology companies — which dominated the top five — was Chinese Internet brand Tencent. Tencent’s brand value soared 97% to $54 billion, making it number 14 on the list.

Facebook, ranked 21st, saw its global brand value rise 68% to $36 billion. Twitter made its debut on the list in the 71st spot, with a brand value of $14 billion, while LinkedIn made its first appearance at number 78, with a value of $12 billion.

TechSpot explains that the value of each brand is calculated through a proprietary tool called Optimor which takes in data from many sources, including 150,000 interviews with consumers. The exact algorithms to come up with the final numbers are a secret, as you might expect.