What Does the Batman Lego Movie Have to Do with Branding?
Lego is on top of the list. According to Brand Finance, Lego is the top brand of 2017.
Brand Finance ranks brands each year based on its Brand Strength Index, which includes familiarity, loyalty, marketing, staff satisfaction and reputation. Here are the top 10 of the world’s “most powerful” brands:
- Lego
- Nike
- Ferrari
- Visa
- Disney
- NBC
- PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC)
- Johnson & Johnson
- McKinsey
I was surprised that this list is missing what I consider very powerful brands, such as Amazon.com, Apple, AT&T, Samsung, Microsoft or Wal-Mart. The only answer on Apple is that it had a 27% decline in value last year, but it always surges after the release of a new phone or product.
Beyond the numbers, it is not any surprise that Lego is surging. It found a real media promotional boon with Lego movies. Despite all the changes in technology, Lego has found a way to be top-of-mind (with movies), relevant (with Star Wars Lego sets) and engaging (with its Lego stores and play areas in popular areas, such as large malls and theme parks).
Lego deserves the ranking by being the most non-tech toy in a high-tech world. Sounds like child’s play and a lesson for us all.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle. After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant. He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.” Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.” One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College. Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board. Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.
