Guinness tops Irish brand value
In a share price study the Brand Finance found that investing in the most highly-branded companies would lead to a return almost double that of the average for the S&P 500 as a whole.
As Ireland’s strongest and most valuable brand, Guinness’s brand value grew 2% to an all-time high of €2.045 billion in the past year, positioning it among the 10 most valuable beer brands in the world.
“Guinness’s domination can be attributed not only to cherishing tradition but also to seizing the opportunities presented by the craft beer revolution,” believes Brand Finance Ireland’s new Managing Director Simon Haigh, “By prioritising the creation of hip sub-brands such as Hop House 13 and investing in marketing campaigns featuring human stories, Guinness is reaching out to younger customers and broader audiences of both genders and a broader age range.”
With year-on-year brand value growth of 44% to a brand value of €1.5 billion, Ryanair claims second place.
The finance sector is well-represented, with Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland and insurance company XL Group in third, fourth, and fifth places respectively.
With a brand valued at €768 million, up 18% from its 2016 valuation of €650 million, Jameson sits in eighth place, the only other drinks brand in the Top 10.
Jameson has been leading innovation in award-winning connoisseur whiskey products and strengthening customer awareness by reopening the Jameson Distillery in Dublin to visitors as well as through bold marketing campaigns outside Ireland, reports Brand Finance.
Jameson has become the strongest of all Pernod Ricard’s international brands, with a sales surge of 20% in the first half of the 2017 fiscal year, driven primarily by its success in the US.
Its international standing was confirmed in the Brand Finance Spirits 50 report published last month, where it rose to 15th place globally.
