Google is the world's second most valuable brand (2nd year in a row). The king of branding is still the one, the only, Apple. This according to the Interbrands Best Global Brands report. (link)

The report assigns Apple a brand value of $B118 whereas Google is a close second at $117. Evaluating global brands is a long and painful process but Interbrands boils it down to 3 main criteria:

• Financial performance of the brand
• The role the brand plays in influencing customer choice
• Does the brand add a premium to products or services sold?