However, M&S is atypical of British brands. For a full analysis of how UK brands are falling behind in performance compared to French and German ones on the world stage, see this week's Marketing magazine (out Tuesday).
Google has become the world's biggest brand after a 77% leap in its brand value to 66.4bn. The search engine tops Millward Brown Optimor's second annual rankings of the world's biggest brands by value. Its 2006 brand value was calculated as $66.4bn, up from $37.4bn in 2005.
General Electric came in second globally, the same position it held last year. Last year's leader, Microsoft, dropped to third place after its brand value dropped 11% to $55bn. The highest-placed UK brand was Vodafone, ranked 22nd with a value of $21.1bn
The study ranks the most powerful brands in the world as measured by their dollar value. It combines Millward Brown's measures of brand equity with financial data.
Top UK brands by value |
| Brand | $bn | Global position | |
| 1 | Vodafone | 21.1 | 22 |
| 2 | HSBC | 17.4 | 31 |
| 3 | Tesco | 16.6 | 32 |
| 4 | Marks & Spencer | 9.5 | 68 |
| 5 | Royal Bank of Scotland | 7.2 | 82 |
| 6 | Barclays | 6.6 | 87 |
| 7 | BP | 5.9 | 93 |
| 8 | Asda | 5.5 | 97 |
| 9 | Standard Charter Bank | 3.9 | n/a |
| 10 | Lloyds TSB | 3.9 | n/a |
| Source: BrandZ Top 100 Most Powerful Brands | |||
| Millward Brown Optimor, April 2007 | |||
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