British brands grow by over £37bn

The latest iteration of Brand Finance’s Brands of British Origin league table shows that Britain continues to be a centre for marketing creativity and innovation, with the value of the top 50 brands originating from these shores increasing by £37.3bn since last year. That’s the equivalent of creating a new brand that’s 10 times as valuable as Cadbury’s or nearly four new Tescos. 50 additional brands have been included this year to bring the full list to 100, taking in iconic brands such as Jaguar, Twinings, Kit Kat, Asos and Royal Mail.

The most recent ONS statistics (released in January 2014) also show that the Advertising and Marketing Industry added £10.2bn in value to the UK Economy in 2012 by building the value of British and of the foreign brands in the UK market That’s over £1m an hour in added value.

For the first time the Brand Finance study covers the top 100 British brands, not just the top 50. David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance said: “The £302bn total value of the top 100 British brands stands as a testament to a thriving creative industry. Some brands like John Lewis may only operate here in the UK while others like Burberry or all our main telecoms brands have been exported around the world. Whether still owned by British companies or not, these brands should make Britain proud of its world-leading marketing industry, which is something we should continue to nurture and invest in.”

The government’s GREAT Britain campaign has been responsible both for highlighting the successes of British brands but also in building Britain’s nation brand, giving brands of British Origin a platform to grow.

Conrad Bird, director of the GREAT Britain campaign commented: “I am delighted to see British brands continue to grow in global stature. This is a reflection of the creativity and quality at the heart not only of the brands themselves, but also their country of origin.

“The GREAT Britain campaign’s core message is that the UK is the most creative and innovative country in the world. These results add further evidence to that claim: the UK is also a world leader in marketing and brand development.

“The GREAT Britain campaign already works in partnership with many of the companies on the top 100 list to inspire the world to do business, visit and study here. For example, HSBC, PWC and Land Rover were headline supporters of the inaugural GREAT Festival of Creativity in Istanbul in May. We also work with Mini and Burberry, as well as a range of smaller UK businesses who may become tomorrow’s great British brands. These partnerships have helped the GREAT campaign tell a compelling story about all that the UK has to offer, and deliver jobs and growth for the UK economy.

“I hope that the GREAT Britain brand itself will one day appear in this list, although it was only launched in 2012. The campaign unites trade, tourism and education promotion of the UK under a single strong brand to deliver a bold and inspiring message about the UK and the strengths this country can offer the world. It’s a message that resonates around the world; the campaign generated £580m for the UK from its first year of activity and is now being used in 144 countries.

“I am certain that we will continue to see the brands on this list grow in strength and value, and the GREAT campaign will continue to work with them to promote the UK and deliver real benefit to the economy.”