January 31, 2005
Most Influential Brands

applelogo.jpg minilogo.jpgIt's like deja vu all over again. If you've been reading since this time last year you'll remember that I posted on the 2003 most influential brands report from Interbrand. Well, the votes are in for 2004 and I'm happy to say that Apple made it to number 1 in 2004 beating out Google who claimed the top spot in 2002 and 2003. Selling more than a million iPods a month in the final quarter of 2004 bringing worldwide iPod users to a respectable 10 million helped vault Apple to the top spot.

Google slipped to second place and MINI slipped from third to sixth in 2004 being nudged down by IKEA at number 3, Starbucks at number 4 and Al Jazeera at number 5 - go figure.

I have to say that I'm pretty impressed that MINI is still in the top 10 influential brands worldwide in its fourth year of production. A lot of people thought the MINI would be a fad but I'd venture to say that fads have much shorter lives than four years. To me, and a lot of others, the new MINI is a continuation of a revolution that started in 1959 with the first Mini. I don't think we'll see the new MINI as the next VW Beetle, mainly because MINI is only allowing about 35,000 cars to be shipped and sold in the U.S. each year. That's 35,000 out of approximately 8 million cars sold in the U.S. every year. So as much as people tell me they see MINIs everywhere, only about four out of 1,000 cars on the roads is a MINI.

So there you have it, two of my favourite things, Macs and MINIs, once again reign supreme. The really funny thing about the two products is that each of them has a relatively small, some say insignificant, market share in their respective markets. You can draw your own conclusion from that, but I say that Apple and MINI are two companies that have put quality, design and style ahead of mass marketing and the traditional global domination goals of most products. Macs and MINIs are not for everybody but if you are a fan of quality, style and innovation, I highly recommend them both.

Posted by todd at January 31, 2005 10:46 AM | Trackback
Comments

Greetings Todd, Just discovered your blog. I’m in London and went to the U.K. Mini Club’s annual gathering at Stafford yesterday. Posted a few pictures on my blog. It was a blast for a brand new MINI owner who was only able to drive it about 20 miles before leaving for England in late December. Can’t wait to get home (to Nags Head, N.C.)in March. I am tagging your website and plan to get more familiar with it soon. Cheers. Jack

Posted by: Jack Sandberg on January 31, 2005 11:33 AM

congrats. i saw this news yesterday i think, and i knew i could expect a blog entry soon from you. also - i would offer that minis and macs, although they are a small percentage in their respective markets, are used more, and more appropriately by those that buy them. i would venture to say - mini owners enjoy driving their cars more, and love their cars more, therefore are in them more, hence the reason we keep thinking we see a lot of them (not to mention they look just a tad bit different than, lets say, a buick century) - and apple/mac users love their computers more, use them differently, and typically praise them more than their pc counterparts, therefore, have a more lasting impression on those around… not to mention i just feel damn smarter when using my mac!

Posted by: jason on January 31, 2005 02:05 PM

What is “Al Jazeera”!?
IKEA is mega back in England - looks like it is on its way to the same here. Shame the nearest is so far away.

Posted by: Ian C. on February 3, 2005 12:03 PM

Ian wrote ” What is Al Jazeera” -

It’s the Middle Eastern equivalent to CNN. 24 hour news television based in Qatar.

We don’t have an IKEA nearby either. For us, Chicago is the closest IKEA. Probably a good thing because they have some cool furniture and office gear.

Posted by: Todd on February 3, 2005 12:13 PM
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