Asia's Top 1000 Brands of 2009

1  Sony
Although plagued in recent months by financial worries, Sony remains the brand to beat in Asia-Pacific, and by a clear margin. The Japanese electronics giant takes the number one spot for the second year running, after once again dominating virtually every product category it competes in.

When it comes to camcorders, flatscreen TVs, DVDs, home audio equipment, gaming consoles and MP3s, Sony is a clear leader across the majority of markets in the survey. However, it still has work to do in the camera and PDA categories, where it is edged out by Canon and HP, respectively. Sony also failed to make a big impact in the computer category,trailing behind HP and Dell.

The last 12 months saw Bates141 roll out its first print and TV campaign for the Sony Bravia regional account that it picked up in mid-2008.

Elsewhere, OMD won the pitch to handle the international media business for Sony's computer entertainment brands, an account that includes the markets of Australia and New Zealand.

2008 Ranking	1
Adspend	US$834,657,770
Main Markets	Regional
Major categories	Consumer electronics

2  Samsung
Samsung climbs six places in this year's ranking, which confirms the progress the Korean brand has made in the region.Versatility is key to Samsung's success. Although it does not take the outright lead in any single category, it nonetheless ranks well across a number of diverse product lines in the consumer electronics and white goods sectors. It even makes an appearance in the insurance category, where it ranks number one in Korea.

But Samsung's strength is no longer limited to dominance in its home market. This year the brand was,for example, the number-two mobile phone choice for Chinese consumers and the number - two DVD brand in both Singapore and Thailand. Indeed, overseas markets will be crucial to Samsung's future. Against a backdrop of plummeting adspend in Korea, the company announced its first quarterly loss at the end of 2008 - news that was followed swiftly by the announcement of a major company restructuring and change in senior leadership and the appointment of Edelman to handle its global PR account.

2008 Ranking	8
Adspend	US$520,640,160
Main Markets	Regional
Major categories	Electronics/White goods

3  Canon
Canon's strength is undoubtedly in cameras. The brand ranks as the number - one camera brand in the region, dominating in all markets except for India and Taiwan, where it was nudged into second place by Sony. But this only tells half of the story. Canon is also the undisputed leader of the less fashionable photocopier category, and scores well in the printer and camcorder categories.

As with many brands in this year's survey, however, Canon's good reputation with Asia's consumers will not necessarily be reflected in its P&L sheets. The brand has said it expects profits to plunge this year, as a result of lower sales in its printer and copier divisions. Its camera operations has so far fared better, but the performance of its latest compact models over the next 12 months will be crucial.

2008 Ranking	2
Adspend	US$444,647,380
Main Markets	Regional
Major categories	Camera/Office equipment

4  LG
LG has seen its stock among Asian consumers rise significantly over the last 12 months, to the extent that it makes its debut in this year's top 10. Just like its Korean counterpart Samsung, LG has benefitted from its consistency across a variety of categories.

While the Korean conglomerate manages to hold its own in a number of consumer electronics categories, it is in white goods that LG has cemented its reputation - the company ranks as the number-one brand overall in the region for refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners.

And although Korea is still its strongest market, the brand has also had stand-out performances in Australia, India and Malaysia.

2008 Ranking	18
Adspend	US$447,061,630
Main Markets	Regional
Major categories	Electronics/White goods

5  Panasonic
The last 12 months for Panasonic were dominated by a major rebranding drive at the end of 2008.The initiative saw parent brand Matsushita and submarques National and Technics adopt the more visible Panasonic brand name. It is hoped that this will help the Japanese electronics giant as it embarks on a major sales drive outside of its home market.

The impact of the rebranding exercise is probably too early to call. However, Panasonic has retained its brand strength in the DVD, camcorder and home audio equipment categories, where it ranks second in the region overall to Sony. Its performance was less spectacular in the flatscreen TV category, where it ranks fourth, despite pushing considerable marketing dollars behind its Viera line.

2008 Ranking	15
Adspend	US$622,223,920
Main Markets	Regional
Major categories	Consumer electronics

6  Hewlett-Packard
HP has repeated its 2008 performance by once again ranking as Asia's favourite brand for computers, printers and PDA's. HP missed out on a clean sweep of all the categories it competed in by coming in second for photocopiers, well behind category leader Canon. Despite the overall stellar performance, though, there are still disappointments. As with last year, HP fails to make a significant impact with Japanese consumers, who ranked eight different computer brands above the US-based company.

With this in mind perhaps, we can expect a significant marketing drive from HP across the region over the next 12 months. Earlier this year, it handed its global media account to OMD, with PHD taking the lead in Asia-Pacific. Interestingly, HP is expected to spend most half of the estimated US$150 million tabled media spend in Asia in the China market. In this year's ranking, HP was the second most popular computer brand in the mainland, behind home-grown favourite Lenovo.

2008 Ranking	5
Adspend	US$234,143,600
Main Markets	Regional
Major categories	Computers

7  Nokia
After last year's fall from grace - which saw Nokia drop from top spot to number 11 - the last 12 months can be seen as something of a resurgence for the Finnish brand.

As was the case last year, Nokia's standing as the consumer's first choice in mobile is still intact. Nokia dominated its rivals in the majority of markets. Its only weak spots were Japan, where it ranks number 12, Korea and Taiwan - all markets with very high levels of consumer loyalty to local brands.

On the marketing front,the big news has been MEC's decision not to defend its hold on Nokia's estimated US$415 million global media account, citing insufficient fees.

However, Nokia's cost-cutting has not stopped other media agencies from pitching in for the prestigious account. At the time of print, at least four agencies were said to be vying for the business, with regional presentations underway in Nokia's key Asia-Pacific markets of China, India and Indonesia.

2008 Ranking	11
Adspend	US$436,692.200
Main Markets	Regional
Major categories	Mobile phone

8  Apple
Apple breaks into the top 10 for the first time, boosted, no doubt, by the launch of the iPhone. However, Apple still only ranks number seven in terms of mobile phones, Similarly, its iPod ranks number two in the MP3 category, while its computer lines come in at number five in that category. In fact, Apple's rise in the rankings most likely comes from an unlikely source - the new software category, where the brand ranks second behind Microsoft. Looking forward, Apple can expect even more competition across the categories in the year ahead as an increasing number of telcos and handset manufacturers follow its lead in the smartphone sector.

2008 Ranking	17
Adspend	US$110,376,220
Main Markets	Regional
Major categories	Consumer electronics

9  Google
For the second year in succession, Google wins the battle of the search engines, narrowly beating Yahoo thanks to its greater levels of awareness in Australia, China, India and Southeast Asia. Google will be especially pleased with its performance in China, where has for the first time managed to overhaul local rival Baidu in the rankings. Google has been working hard to increase its market share in China. Earlier this year, it launched a free music download service in the country, the first of its kind for Google in any of its global markets.

2008 Ranking	4
Adspend	US$2,158,460
Main Markets	Regional
Major categories	Search engine

10  Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola once again emerges from the Top 1000 rankings as the region's favourite soft drink brand. Coke trounces closest rival Pepsi in every market surveyed. Its only blind spot is its inability yet again to beat local challenger brand Hey Song in Taiwan. 

From a PR perspective, however, Coke's year has been less rewarding. The brand suffered boycotts in Malaysia over US support for Israel's attacks on Gaza, while the company's failed bid for Chinese juice maker Huiyaun damaged its standing among many of the country's consumers.

2008 Ranking	15
Adspend	US$749,634,950
Main Markets	Regional
Major categories	Soft drinks

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