Research by Kantar has ranked premium Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker as one of the top five most valuable UK brands.
According to the report, the latest achievement places Johnnie Walker, a first-time entrant, on the top five, joining the likes of Vodafone, HSBC and Shell. The premium whisky brand rose four places and grew its value to $10.9 billion – an increase of 17% on its 2022 level.
Commenting on the report, Adele Jolliffe, head of brand consultants at Kantar Insights UK, said: “What brands like Johnnie Walker, Dove and Burberry do especially well is fundamentally knowing who they are and what they stand for, while adapting to people’s changing behaviours and attitudes.
“We’ve seen some high-profile rebrands this year like Twitter to X and other businesses might be tempted to try something new as inflation bites, but organisations shouldn’t forget the value of the brand equity they’ve built up. This is absolutely not about standing still, but it is about understanding what consumers like about your brand, and protecting and investing in that.”
Mr. Jolliffe added: “Our data shows that brand – and brand difference in particular – is one of the most powerful tools a business has to justify its pricing. M&S Food is a great example of this. It has one of the strongest pricing power scores in its sector thanks to a consistent focus on shaping its reputation as a retailer with a difference. Ultimately, the future stars of marketing will be the people who really understand this link between pricing and brand building, and who use it to their advantage to drive profitability.”
The Kantar annual report combines carefully analyzed financial data with extensive brand equity research. A brand must originally have been created in the UK and be owned by an enterprise listed on the London Stock Exchange, or a recognised stock exchange, in order to qualify for inclusion.
