NEWS29 September 2022

UK brand value lags behind global average

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UK – Vodafone has been named the most valuable brand in the UK for the fifth year in a row in the BrandZ ranking published by Kantar, with UK brands falling behind on average in terms of value compared with brands globally.

Vodafone office

The report valued Vodafone’s brand at $32.7bn for 2022, a 6% increase from 2021, outranking BT and Sky.

Collectively, the UK’s leading 75 brands are now worth $282.9bn, up by 1% year-on-year. Kantar’s analysis found that globally, the 100 most valuable brands grew by 23% in 2022, suggesting brands in the UK are falling behind their global competitors.

Dom Boyd, managing director of Kantar Insights UK, said: “Last year UK brands were recovering from the impact of Covid-19, but that bounce back is now stuttering as inflation takes hold. During times of heightened uncertainty like we have now, building your brand is vital to protect and enhance customer growth. We need to see marketing teams manoeuvring to increase value and market share. This is definitely not the time for businesses to be hunkering down or pulling back from campaigns.

“Already in sectors like grocery we are tracking a swing to own label products. We know that if brands lose customers to own label, those shoppers are very difficult to win back when economic conditions improve. It’s therefore critical for brands to prove that they are worth spending money on and that invariably means innovating.”

The Kantar BrandZ UK study is based on survey data on around 150,000 UK consumers and combines financial data with brand equity research.

The research also found that one in four brands in the UK top 75 are ‘charging a higher price than perceptions of their brands can justify', according to Kantar, suggesting that businesses need to work on aligning their pricing and brand strategies.

Kantar said Vodafone’s top spot was secured by growing customer numbers across Europe and adding 149,000 new mobile contract customers in the UK (according to its half-year results, posted in November 2021 ).

HSBC was ranked second in the list, with a brand value of $17.8bn, with Shell following in third place at $17.1bn. Both companies increased their brand value by over 10% compared with the 2021 rankings. Barclays was included in the list for the first time, growing its value by 6%.

Top 10 UK brands 2022 ranking, according to the BrandZ report: