What do Amazon, McDonalds, and Toyota have in common? Each is recognized by Interbrand as one of the Top 10 leading global brands (2020) based on the financial performance of their branded products, the role of the brand in the purchase decision process, and the strength of the brand against competitors.
Leading brands typically create a new product or service category and then dominate it. (Think Amazon’s digital ecosystem, McDonald’s Big Mac, Toyota’s Prius.) Their brand promises succinctly state the value or experience customers can expect every time they interact with the brand. Amazon’s brand promise is synonymous with its orchestrated customer experience: “To deliver the broadest selection of products and services at the lowest prices with minimal hassle.” Similarly, McDonald’s brand promise to be “Consistent, Fun, Fast” is satisfying millions of customers across the globe. Toyota’s “globally local” brand promises customers “Peace of Mind” and “Waku Doki,” an adrenaline rush!
What key takeaways from these Top 10 Global Brands can help us fine-tune our own brands?
- The Importance of Understanding the Unique, Tangible Value You are Delivering to Customers.
Jeff Bezos set out to create the world’s largest digital library before expanding into e-commerce. What both ventures have in common is a unique, intuitive, “curated” access ramp to books and products, with digital as well as logistical delivery networks that track and expedite deliveries seamlessly. Are they expanding and delighting their customer base with an exceptional, minimal hassle experience? Their #2 position as a Top 10 global brand would answer in the affirmative.
- The Need to Identify – and Differentiate – Your Special Sauce.
Introduced in Pittsburgh in 1969 and launched nationwide a year later, McDonald’s most famous menu item is the Big Mac featuring two all-beef patties with lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a sesame seed bun. For this 9th-ranked global brand leader, the key differentiator, however, is its special sauce. What’s yours?
- Establishing Your “Firsts” in a Business Category Marks You as a Leader.
Toyota is #7 in Interbrand’s 2020 Top 100 Global brands list, one slot ahead of Mercedes Benz. With its 1997 introduction of the first hybrid car, the Prius (Latin for “to go”) in Japan, Toyota went on to dominate the hybrid car category, releasing the Prius worldwide in 2001. It remains the #1 selling hybrid car in the world today. There’s a lot to be said for first-movers who create, define, and then dominate a business category. What first-mover DNA strands reside in your brand?
