The business results of marketing well

We have written a bit about some of the companies -- Apple and Google being two of them -- that we think market themselves and their brands well. Apparently, we're not the only ones. In a 2004 survey of global brands conducted by BrandChannel, those two brands actually topped their list of the most powerful global brands. The people who voted were not random; by and large, they were marketing and branding people, so recognize that these results may, or may not, differ from the general population.

Does strong branding and marketing really matter that much? Well, in the year that these two companies' brands rose to their zenith. Google's stock is up about 100% since its IPO six months ago, and over the last twelve months, Apple's stock increased about 250%. Good marketing and branding may not have been the direct cause, but it certainly hasn't hurt them either.