Guinness remains the Republic of Ireland's most valuable brand, due in part to its ability to innovate with new beers and its continued success at marketing its products, according to a new study.
The beloved black stuff tops Brand Finance’s annual ranking of top Irish brands again with Guinness recording a 16 per cent increase in brand value to €2.5 billion.
Brand Finance, a London-based consultancy that also prepares an annual global survey, said the launch of several new craft beers, its renewed sponsorship of the Six Nations and its successful digital marketing campaigns had helped boost Guinness' international recognition.
The top five Irish brands are unchanged from last year with AIB, Primark/Penneys, Ryanair and Smurfit Kappa coming in behind Guinness. Bank of Ireland swaps places with DCC, with Jameson, Ardagh Group and Kingspan rounding out the top ten.
According to the survey, AIB's brand value jumped 21 per cent last year to €2.3 billion from €1.92 billion due to its success in rebuilding the brand and its attempts at going digital. Rival Bank of Ireland saw its brand value jump 56 per cent to €1.4 billion, largely on the back of its €900 million technology transformation programme.
On the flipside, Ulster Bank lost more value than any other Irish brand, falling by 20 per cent to €243 million as it suffered from the effects of the tracker mortgage scandal.
Budget brand Primark/Penneys saw a 20 per cent rise in brand value to €2.2 billion, while Ryanair saw a 34 per cent jump to €2.1 billon.
While Guinness is the most valuable Irish brand, Baileys is considered the strongest due to its unique identity and its move to launch new products aimed at more health conscious consumers.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands using the Royalty Relief approach, a method compliant with the ISO 10668 standard.
Its global survey, which was published early last year, ranked Amazon as top brand overall, ahead of Apple and Google.
