Apple tops as most valuable global brand

With the launch of iPhone 6 and its smartwatch, regaining the world's most powerful brand honour from Google turned out to be a cakewalk for Apple, reveals a survey.

The launch of the iPhone 6 and its smartwatch helped Apple to easily overtake Google and reclaim the mantle of world's most powerful brand, according to a survey.

Apple was placed at the top in the annual Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list, with a 67-per cent increase in estimated value at $247 billion.

Joining Apple in the Top 10 are Google, Microsoft, IBM, Visa, AT&T, Verizon, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Marlboro.

Facebook proved to be the biggest mover among the top 100, doubling its brand value to over $70 billion.

Apple's brand value surge toppled Google which slipped to second place in the list, with a modest 9 per cent boost at $173.6 billion.

According to Amanda Phillips, UK head of marketing at Millward Brown, which publishes the report, it was Apple's latest upgrade to its globally popular iPhone that boosted the brand in the 2015 report.

''Though the Apple Watch has proved extremely popular it is the success of the iPhone 6 that has been the main driver of Apple's brand value growth,'' she said. ''The key to success for winning brands is to define themselves through innovation, differentiation and purpose, as in the case of Apple.''