Internet firm Google has again pipped Apple to the top spot in a global brand ranking that also sees YouTube and Wikipedia debut in the top five, a survey showed on Friday.
The annual survey by online branding magazine brandchannel.com often throws up controversial results, such as in 2004, when Arabic TV station Al Jazeera was named the world's fifth most influential brand.
This year the 3,625 branding professionals and students who voted have again surprised, awarding upstart firms star status when asked: "Which brand had the most impact on our lives in 2006?".
Google, the Internet search engine that has expanded regionally and moved into online advertising, mail and blogging, seized the top spot for the second consecutive year, ahead of Apple Inc, which again comes in second place.
More surprisingly, video-sharing Web site YouTube, which was bought by Google in October last year, stormed into third place. Online encyclopedia Wikipedia makes the fourth spot, pushing coffee shop behemoth Starbucks Corp. to fifth.
"The dramatic debut of these newcomers -- YouTube in third and Wikipedia in fourth -- is an indication of a larger trend -- the growing impact of online brands built on user-generated contents," editor Anthony Zumpano said in a statement.
Other new brand winners were News Corp's online chat site MySpace, debuting in 15th place in the North America rankings, and Al Jazeera, which advances to 19th place globally having launched its English language channel in November and after its drop from fifth to 25th in 2005.
The poll does not take account of economic brand value, the murky science of assigning a financial value to brand, which regularly puts Coca-Cola Co's Coke in first place.
Neither does it ask respondents to consider whether the brand's impact is positive or negative.
Brandchannel also split the poll by regions and in the North America the rundown was similar to the global outcome, albeit in a different order, with Apple in first place, followed by YouTube, Google, Starbucks and Wikipedia.
The top five places in the European list are from homegrown corporations, with Swedish furniture giant Ikea knocking Nokia off the top spot and into third place. Skype comes in second, with fast-fashion brand Zara in fourth and Adidas in fifth.
Likewise, local firms dominate the Asia-Pacific region poll with the top five places taken by Sony, Toyota, HSBC, Samsung and Honda. Third-placed HSBC has Asian roots although it is headquartered in London.
And in a refreshing change from the high-tech brands that dominate the global poll, Latin America's top two are party beverages Corona and Bacardi, with mobile phone operator Movistar in third. Sandal maker Havaianas takes fourth place and Bimbo, the world's number three bread maker, comes in fifth.
Reuters
Friday, January 26, 2007
Automaker Economists Issue Outlook for 2007
THREE LEADING AUTO ECONOMISTS PREDICT that a slowdown in U.S. economic growth will have a ripple effect on auto sales this year, forecasting U.S. sales of light vehicles will remain steady or drop slightly -- to around 16.4 million units. But they expect gasoline prices will continue to decline, which could help segments such as sport-utility vehicles.
Economists from General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG laid out their predictions earlier this month at the Society of Automotive Analysts meeting in Detroit.
Van E. Jolissaint, Chrysler's chief economist and director of economic and market intelligence with DaimlerChrysler AG, said he expects U.S. gross domestic product will slow from around 3.5% to 2.5%. He predicts that by the middle of this year "housing construction will cease to be a drag on the U.S. economy."
Jolissaint also predicts that as gas prices stabilize, sales of trucks and SUVs will rebound. "We expect small and mid-size and even large cars to lose share somewhat in 2007, and we expect pick-ups and sport utilities and minivans to regain some share in 2007," he said.
Both GM's chief economist G. Mustafa Mohatarem and Ford's Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, director and chief economist, agreed that oil prices should stabilize. But they were less bullish about the U.S. auto industry's prospects for growth in 2007. Instead, they predict that virtually all the growth that will happen in the global car industry will come from outside the U.S. in the foreseeable future -- particularly from China and India.
The growth in those markets is likely to have an impact on the kinds of cars U.S. auto buyers choose, said other analysts speaking at the meeting. The small car market --think brands like Toyota's Yaris or the Nissan Versa -- is a tiny portion of the U.S. market.
Analysts such as Wim Van Acker, managing partner with the North American operations of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, expects that to change in the next six years as more production from China becomes available in the U.S.
"The entry-level car is something which is beginning in the U.S.," he said, projecting sales will almost double, from 400,000 in 2006 to about 700,000 in 2012.
Van Acker said that while price and fuel economy are key deciding factors for small-car consumers, brands are also important to the decision-making process. "People always think that the product is the only thing. Well it's not. You have to handle the combination of car, care and core: The car being the product, care being the service around it, and core being the brand, which is supporting it."
MarketingDaily
Economists from General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG laid out their predictions earlier this month at the Society of Automotive Analysts meeting in Detroit.
Van E. Jolissaint, Chrysler's chief economist and director of economic and market intelligence with DaimlerChrysler AG, said he expects U.S. gross domestic product will slow from around 3.5% to 2.5%. He predicts that by the middle of this year "housing construction will cease to be a drag on the U.S. economy."
Jolissaint also predicts that as gas prices stabilize, sales of trucks and SUVs will rebound. "We expect small and mid-size and even large cars to lose share somewhat in 2007, and we expect pick-ups and sport utilities and minivans to regain some share in 2007," he said.
Both GM's chief economist G. Mustafa Mohatarem and Ford's Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, director and chief economist, agreed that oil prices should stabilize. But they were less bullish about the U.S. auto industry's prospects for growth in 2007. Instead, they predict that virtually all the growth that will happen in the global car industry will come from outside the U.S. in the foreseeable future -- particularly from China and India.
The growth in those markets is likely to have an impact on the kinds of cars U.S. auto buyers choose, said other analysts speaking at the meeting. The small car market --think brands like Toyota's Yaris or the Nissan Versa -- is a tiny portion of the U.S. market.
Analysts such as Wim Van Acker, managing partner with the North American operations of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, expects that to change in the next six years as more production from China becomes available in the U.S.
"The entry-level car is something which is beginning in the U.S.," he said, projecting sales will almost double, from 400,000 in 2006 to about 700,000 in 2012.
Van Acker said that while price and fuel economy are key deciding factors for small-car consumers, brands are also important to the decision-making process. "People always think that the product is the only thing. Well it's not. You have to handle the combination of car, care and core: The car being the product, care being the service around it, and core being the brand, which is supporting it."
MarketingDaily
eBay Holds Its Turf Against Google
The online auctioneer fended off its new rival in the fourth quarter. Can Meg Whitman keep it going with her recent acquisitions?
Investors of eBay headed into the end of last year with some trepidation. The concern: an 800-pound-gorilla named Google (GOOG) would give eBay a drubbing during the 2006 holiday season. The search giant aggressively moved into eBay's (EBAY) e-commerce territory in 2005 with a product-listing service called Google Base. Last year, it stepped up the challenge, launching Google Checkout, a competitor to PayPal, eBay's online payment processing service. The new offering was dubbed by press as a PayPal "killer" before it even debuted.
But eBay kept that gorilla in check in the fourth quarter, judging from results released Jan. 24. The company said sales rose 29%, to $1.72 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations. The amount, which was about half a billion higher than what analysts were anticipating on average, grew 29% from last year. For the full year, revenue grew 31% from 2005, reaching $6 billion and meeting what CEO Meg Whitman called an internal company goal for "6 (billion) in '06." Investors liked what they heard, propelling eBay shares 13.3%, to $33.98, in extended trading. The stock gained another 7.8% on Jan. 25, to $32.35 in afternoon trading on the NASDAQ.
Positive Pruning
Whitman attributed the solid quarter, in part, to more product listings turning into actual sales on eBay's site. The company's core auction business had suffered last year from sellers dumping slow-selling and patently unwanted merchandise in their eBay stores, as well as pricing some items too high for eBay's bargain-hunting audience. The result was a poorer experience for buyers and inventory that sat on the site far longer than desired, Whitman explained.
Last spring and summer, eBay raised fees by roughly 6% in order to encourage merchants to sell items people want and to price them to move. So far, the plan seems to be working. The site saw declines in the inventory that languished in eBay stores before selling or that didn't sell at all. "We are moving toward a better eBay marketplace," Whitman said during the call, cautioning that there was still work to do this year. Company CFO Bob Swan said that conversion rates have yet to reach their 2005 levels, but that they markedly improved since 2006.
In a note to investors, Goldman Sachs (GS) analyst Anthony Noto indicated he was pleased with eBay's efforts to "prune" low-quality listings. "eBay's focus on successful listings, as opposed to listings at any cost, is the key focus and driver of growth for eBay at this juncture," he wrote, adding "improved revenue-per-listing trends reinforce our view that eBay is at the early stages of a multi-quarter period of stabilizing-to-accelerating growth."
PayPal Paying Well
Sales also got a boost from increased holiday traffic due in part to the hype over hard-to-find gifts such as the Nintendo Wii (NTDOY) and Sony PS3 (SNE). Holiday shoppers flocked to the site to bid on the items and, when they lost the bid, frequently continued shopping on the site anyway, Whitman said.
The big surprise of the season, however, was the strength of the services supposed to be suffering at the hands of Google. PayPal posted revenues of $417 million, a 37% growth rate compared with 2005’s fourth quarter. The payment-service company handled a record $11 billion in transactions, up 57%.
In fact, Whitman said that all the hype over Google Checkout actually boosted sales for market-leading PayPal, which reaped publicity amid the coverage of Google's foray. "I think we have disproportionately benefited from news in this category," Whitman said. She added that PayPal has an advantage over Google Checkout in that it's not just "a wrapper for Visa and Mastercard," but functions as an independent payment service.
Scott Devitt, an analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, says that acquiring PayPal was one of eBay's best moves. Ebay purchased the payment company for $1.5 billion in 2002. "PayPal has just been phenomenal," says Devitt. "It is one of the best acquisitions in the history of the Internet in terms of the returns."
Skype Question
In terms of acquisitions, Devitt also believes eBay picked a winner, for $310 million, in ticket reseller StubHub. Ebay expects that the site will bring in between $105 and $120 million in 2007. That would help boost the company's overall revenues this year. During the call, eBay raised its revenue estimates for 2007 to between $7.05 and $7.3 billion for the full year. It predicts earnings-per-share growth of between 20% and 23% in the range of $1.25 to $1.29.
Share gains aside, eBay thinks the stock merits a higher value and announced a plan to repurchase $2 billion in stock over the next two years. The plan shows the company's confidence in its ability to grow, says Devitt. He adds that he thinks the company will show mid- to upper-teens growth on a three-year basis.
Despite the positive glow overall, the jury is still out on the eBay acquisition of Skype. While many analysts agree that the service has potential, they worry about eBay's ability to make money off of Skype's growing number of users. One positive sign: Google is working with Skype in developing click-to-call ads, says Devitt. The move may show that Google isn't so confident about being able to effectively challenge Skype for pay-per-call ads with its own competing service.
Or it could show that, after Google's experience with Checkout, it's easier to keep eBay as a friend than a rival.
BusinessWeek
Investors of eBay headed into the end of last year with some trepidation. The concern: an 800-pound-gorilla named Google (GOOG) would give eBay a drubbing during the 2006 holiday season. The search giant aggressively moved into eBay's (EBAY) e-commerce territory in 2005 with a product-listing service called Google Base. Last year, it stepped up the challenge, launching Google Checkout, a competitor to PayPal, eBay's online payment processing service. The new offering was dubbed by press as a PayPal "killer" before it even debuted.
But eBay kept that gorilla in check in the fourth quarter, judging from results released Jan. 24. The company said sales rose 29%, to $1.72 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations. The amount, which was about half a billion higher than what analysts were anticipating on average, grew 29% from last year. For the full year, revenue grew 31% from 2005, reaching $6 billion and meeting what CEO Meg Whitman called an internal company goal for "6 (billion) in '06." Investors liked what they heard, propelling eBay shares 13.3%, to $33.98, in extended trading. The stock gained another 7.8% on Jan. 25, to $32.35 in afternoon trading on the NASDAQ.
Positive Pruning
Whitman attributed the solid quarter, in part, to more product listings turning into actual sales on eBay's site. The company's core auction business had suffered last year from sellers dumping slow-selling and patently unwanted merchandise in their eBay stores, as well as pricing some items too high for eBay's bargain-hunting audience. The result was a poorer experience for buyers and inventory that sat on the site far longer than desired, Whitman explained.
Last spring and summer, eBay raised fees by roughly 6% in order to encourage merchants to sell items people want and to price them to move. So far, the plan seems to be working. The site saw declines in the inventory that languished in eBay stores before selling or that didn't sell at all. "We are moving toward a better eBay marketplace," Whitman said during the call, cautioning that there was still work to do this year. Company CFO Bob Swan said that conversion rates have yet to reach their 2005 levels, but that they markedly improved since 2006.
In a note to investors, Goldman Sachs (GS) analyst Anthony Noto indicated he was pleased with eBay's efforts to "prune" low-quality listings. "eBay's focus on successful listings, as opposed to listings at any cost, is the key focus and driver of growth for eBay at this juncture," he wrote, adding "improved revenue-per-listing trends reinforce our view that eBay is at the early stages of a multi-quarter period of stabilizing-to-accelerating growth."
PayPal Paying Well
Sales also got a boost from increased holiday traffic due in part to the hype over hard-to-find gifts such as the Nintendo Wii (NTDOY) and Sony PS3 (SNE). Holiday shoppers flocked to the site to bid on the items and, when they lost the bid, frequently continued shopping on the site anyway, Whitman said.
The big surprise of the season, however, was the strength of the services supposed to be suffering at the hands of Google. PayPal posted revenues of $417 million, a 37% growth rate compared with 2005’s fourth quarter. The payment-service company handled a record $11 billion in transactions, up 57%.
In fact, Whitman said that all the hype over Google Checkout actually boosted sales for market-leading PayPal, which reaped publicity amid the coverage of Google's foray. "I think we have disproportionately benefited from news in this category," Whitman said. She added that PayPal has an advantage over Google Checkout in that it's not just "a wrapper for Visa and Mastercard," but functions as an independent payment service.
Scott Devitt, an analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, says that acquiring PayPal was one of eBay's best moves. Ebay purchased the payment company for $1.5 billion in 2002. "PayPal has just been phenomenal," says Devitt. "It is one of the best acquisitions in the history of the Internet in terms of the returns."
Skype Question
In terms of acquisitions, Devitt also believes eBay picked a winner, for $310 million, in ticket reseller StubHub. Ebay expects that the site will bring in between $105 and $120 million in 2007. That would help boost the company's overall revenues this year. During the call, eBay raised its revenue estimates for 2007 to between $7.05 and $7.3 billion for the full year. It predicts earnings-per-share growth of between 20% and 23% in the range of $1.25 to $1.29.
Share gains aside, eBay thinks the stock merits a higher value and announced a plan to repurchase $2 billion in stock over the next two years. The plan shows the company's confidence in its ability to grow, says Devitt. He adds that he thinks the company will show mid- to upper-teens growth on a three-year basis.
Despite the positive glow overall, the jury is still out on the eBay acquisition of Skype. While many analysts agree that the service has potential, they worry about eBay's ability to make money off of Skype's growing number of users. One positive sign: Google is working with Skype in developing click-to-call ads, says Devitt. The move may show that Google isn't so confident about being able to effectively challenge Skype for pay-per-call ads with its own competing service.
Or it could show that, after Google's experience with Checkout, it's easier to keep eBay as a friend than a rival.
BusinessWeek
Norway Blocks iTunes; Germany, France May Follow
Apple was dealt a blow in Europe on Wednesday when Norway’s powerful consumer ombudsman ruled that its iTunes online music store was illegal because it did not allow downloaded songs to be played on rival technology companies’ devices.
The decision is the first time any jurisdiction has concluded iTunes breaks its consumer protection laws and could prompt other European countries to review the situation.
The ombudsman has set a deadline of October 1 for the Apple to make its codes available to other technology companies so that it abides by Norwegian law. If it fails to do so, it will be taken to court, fined and eventually closed down.
Apple, whose iTunes dominates the legal download market, has its proprietory system Fairplay. Songs and tunes downloaded through iTunes are designed to work with Apple’s MP3 player iPod, but cannot be played on rival devices.
Torgeir Waterhouse, senior adviser to the Norwegian Consumer Council, who originally launched the complaint, told the Financial Times he was in negotiations with pan-European consumer groups to present a unified position on iTunes’ legality.
Sweden and Finland have already backed Norway’s stance, but have yet to take action, and Mr Waterhouse said the campaign was joined on Wednesday by Germany and France.
“We are satisfied the Federation of German Consumer Organisations and the French UFC Que Choisir are addressing this important issue. It means that iTunes is now being told by more than 100m European consumers to offer them a fair deal,” he said.
Apple signalled that it would fight efforts in Norway and elsewhere in Europe to prise open the iTunes service, though it struck a more conciliatory tone than early last year when it attacked a proposed French law as “state-sponsored piracy”.
“Apple is aware of the concerns we’ve heard from several agencies in Europe, and we’re looking forward to resolving these issues as quickly as possible,” it said in a statement. “Apple hopes that European governments will encourage a competitive environment that lets innovation thrive, protects intellectual property and allows consumers to decide which products are successful.”
The development comes as competition in the multi-billion dollar global market for digital music is intensifying.
Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, has set up a rival to iTunes, while Microsoft, the US technology company, has also launched its own digital music player called Zune to compete with the iPod.
However, the lack of interoperability has been blamed by some consumers and technology companies for hampering the growth of the legal digital music download market.
Record companies insist that the issue of interoperability is one for technology companies, and stress the importance of digital rights management in order to prevent piracy.
The IFPI, which represents record groups around the world, said that it “thoroughly supported interoperability, but wanted a market solution rather than one imposed by authorities”.
Financial Times
The decision is the first time any jurisdiction has concluded iTunes breaks its consumer protection laws and could prompt other European countries to review the situation.
The ombudsman has set a deadline of October 1 for the Apple to make its codes available to other technology companies so that it abides by Norwegian law. If it fails to do so, it will be taken to court, fined and eventually closed down.
Apple, whose iTunes dominates the legal download market, has its proprietory system Fairplay. Songs and tunes downloaded through iTunes are designed to work with Apple’s MP3 player iPod, but cannot be played on rival devices.
Torgeir Waterhouse, senior adviser to the Norwegian Consumer Council, who originally launched the complaint, told the Financial Times he was in negotiations with pan-European consumer groups to present a unified position on iTunes’ legality.
Sweden and Finland have already backed Norway’s stance, but have yet to take action, and Mr Waterhouse said the campaign was joined on Wednesday by Germany and France.
“We are satisfied the Federation of German Consumer Organisations and the French UFC Que Choisir are addressing this important issue. It means that iTunes is now being told by more than 100m European consumers to offer them a fair deal,” he said.
Apple signalled that it would fight efforts in Norway and elsewhere in Europe to prise open the iTunes service, though it struck a more conciliatory tone than early last year when it attacked a proposed French law as “state-sponsored piracy”.
“Apple is aware of the concerns we’ve heard from several agencies in Europe, and we’re looking forward to resolving these issues as quickly as possible,” it said in a statement. “Apple hopes that European governments will encourage a competitive environment that lets innovation thrive, protects intellectual property and allows consumers to decide which products are successful.”
The development comes as competition in the multi-billion dollar global market for digital music is intensifying.
Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, has set up a rival to iTunes, while Microsoft, the US technology company, has also launched its own digital music player called Zune to compete with the iPod.
However, the lack of interoperability has been blamed by some consumers and technology companies for hampering the growth of the legal digital music download market.
Record companies insist that the issue of interoperability is one for technology companies, and stress the importance of digital rights management in order to prevent piracy.
The IFPI, which represents record groups around the world, said that it “thoroughly supported interoperability, but wanted a market solution rather than one imposed by authorities”.
Financial Times
Nintendo Wii Sales On Track; New Role Unveiled
NINTENDO IS MORE THAN HALFWAY to its goal of shipping 6 million Wii gaming consoles by March 31, the end of its current fiscal year, the company said when announcing its earnings for April-December 2006. Robust sales of Wii helped push the company's profit up 43% in the last nine months of 2006.
Nintendo said it had shipped 4 million Wii consoles by the end of 2006 and sold 3.19 million worldwide--1.25 million in North America and 1.14 million in Japan.
In an additional development to watch, Nintendo also announced yesterday that it will make news from AP available through the Wii console.
Rival Sony also estimates it will ship 6 million PlayStation 3 machines by March 31, although it has suffered considerable setbacks in reaching that goal. The company said it had shipped 2 million PlayStation 3 machines worldwide by mid-January, with its Japanese shipments delayed by two weeks, and the European launch of the PS3 delayed until later this year.
The success of the Wii has been attributed to Nintendo's long-standing formula of marketing easy-to-play games to a wider audience, rather than catering to a narrower audience of young, male gamers. The Wii has been bought by families and single males alike, both demographics responding positively to the console's usability and library of familiar games' title characters, like "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess."
Nintendo's earnings growth was also boosted by strong sales of its DS portable player, which sold 18.9 million units worldwide in the first three quarters of 2006. The company's overall sales rose 73% to 713 billion yen ($5.9 billion) during the April-December period, from 412 billion yen in the year-ago period.
MarketingDaily
Nintendo said it had shipped 4 million Wii consoles by the end of 2006 and sold 3.19 million worldwide--1.25 million in North America and 1.14 million in Japan.
In an additional development to watch, Nintendo also announced yesterday that it will make news from AP available through the Wii console.
Rival Sony also estimates it will ship 6 million PlayStation 3 machines by March 31, although it has suffered considerable setbacks in reaching that goal. The company said it had shipped 2 million PlayStation 3 machines worldwide by mid-January, with its Japanese shipments delayed by two weeks, and the European launch of the PS3 delayed until later this year.
The success of the Wii has been attributed to Nintendo's long-standing formula of marketing easy-to-play games to a wider audience, rather than catering to a narrower audience of young, male gamers. The Wii has been bought by families and single males alike, both demographics responding positively to the console's usability and library of familiar games' title characters, like "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess."
Nintendo's earnings growth was also boosted by strong sales of its DS portable player, which sold 18.9 million units worldwide in the first three quarters of 2006. The company's overall sales rose 73% to 713 billion yen ($5.9 billion) during the April-December period, from 412 billion yen in the year-ago period.
MarketingDaily
MSN Ad Revenue Increases 20%
MSN'S ADVERTISING REVENUE INCREASED TO $462 million last quarter--marking an increase of $77 million, or 20%, from the last three months of 2005, Microsoft reported Thursday. The surge was led largely by growth in display advertising on home pages, portals, channels, email and messaging services.
"If you break that down into display and search, there's a better story on the display side," said Chris Liddell, Microsoft's chief financial officer, referring to the ad revenue.
While Microsoft did not provide specific numbers about search versus display ads, Nielsen//NetRatings estimated Thursday that MSN's revenue from image-based ads increased 28% from the last quarter of 2005, based on AdRelevance data.
Liddell also said in the earnings call that Microsoft was disappointed it had recently lost ground in search. "We lost market share during the quarter--we're clearly not happy with that," he said. But, he added, "we continue to take a long-term view on this business." According to comScore Networks, MSN search claimed just 10.5% of searches last month--down from 13.7% at the beginning of the year.
All of Microsoft's online service businesses posted a loss of $155 million last quarter--down from a profit of $58 million during the same period last year. Much of that decline stemmed from a loss in revenue from dial-up subscribers.
Revenue growth was offset by high costs from new hires and investment in developing adCenter, Windows Live and other online properties, Liddell added.
OnlineMediaDaily
"If you break that down into display and search, there's a better story on the display side," said Chris Liddell, Microsoft's chief financial officer, referring to the ad revenue.
While Microsoft did not provide specific numbers about search versus display ads, Nielsen//NetRatings estimated Thursday that MSN's revenue from image-based ads increased 28% from the last quarter of 2005, based on AdRelevance data.
Liddell also said in the earnings call that Microsoft was disappointed it had recently lost ground in search. "We lost market share during the quarter--we're clearly not happy with that," he said. But, he added, "we continue to take a long-term view on this business." According to comScore Networks, MSN search claimed just 10.5% of searches last month--down from 13.7% at the beginning of the year.
All of Microsoft's online service businesses posted a loss of $155 million last quarter--down from a profit of $58 million during the same period last year. Much of that decline stemmed from a loss in revenue from dial-up subscribers.
Revenue growth was offset by high costs from new hires and investment in developing adCenter, Windows Live and other online properties, Liddell added.
OnlineMediaDaily
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