For second year, Google is named world's most powerful brand

Google Inc. ranked as the world's most powerful brand for the second consecutive year, as the company capitalized on its name to sell advertising globally, according to a study by a consulting firm.

Google, owner of the most popular search engine, topped the third annual ranking from Millward Brown, which surveyed more than 1 million consumers about 50,000 brands, the New York-based consulting company said Monday. Two years ago, when Microsoft Corp. topped the list, Google ranked seventh.

The company, which got nearly all of its $16.6 billion in 2007 revenue from ads, is leveraging its brand to win more sales in China and other fast-growing economies. Expansion in China helped international revenue account for more than half of sales last quarter, Google said last week. Still, its search engine trails the popularity of Baidu.com Inc. in that country.

"To be powerful, a brand has to have a strong relationship with its end consumers," Nigel Hollis, Millward Brown's chief global analyst, said in an interview.

The rankings reflect a company's revenue, the markets in which it competes, consumer attitudes and the brand's expected contribution to future sales, Hollis said. Based on those factors, Google has a brand value of $86.1 billion.

Google's prominence on the list may have more to do with its stock than its worldwide recognition, said David Aaker, vice chairman of Prophet Brand Strategy, a San Francisco-based consulting firm.

"People take these lists too seriously," said Aaker, who has written 12 books on brands and marketing. "Google's brand value is inflated because its stock value is inflated."

Apple Inc., which ranked seventh, reached the survey's top 10 for the first time. It also was the first time that Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry e-mail phone, ranked 51st, made the list at all.

Technology companies, including Google, Microsoft and Apple, accounted for 28 of the top 100 brands in Millward Brown's survey. They represented a combined brand value of $187.5 billion.

General Electric Co. took second place for the third year in a row. Microsoft, Coca-Cola Co. and China Mobile Ltd. rounded out the top five.