The latest league table of international cool brands has been announced, leaving all the specialist mobile companies out of the top twenty.
The list published by the cool brands council highlights the most innovative and stylish brands of the times, and is regularly coveted by marketers. It has been topped by Aston Martin.
Apple, previously at second place, has been knocked down to number 3 by its own product the iPhone. This handset was in fact the only mobile brand to make a top 20, which was dominated by a combination of digital and luxury brands.
Cool Brands boss, Stephen Cheliotis, commented that: ‘Other leading brands such as Samsung and Nokia must raise their game in order to compete’.
The mobile industry as a whole has consistently failed to reach the top 20 for a number of years. Despite the technological leaps by manufacturers and despite reports that mobile telephone subscriptions have reached a whopping four billion, the cachet around phones does not appear to be rising.
He highlights the fact that brands such as Samsung are not just a mobile company and may have been dragged down by other less covetable products within their business such as washing machines and fridges.
Cheliotis did however add that that although mobile brands are not rising in terms of popularity at present, it would be unfair to say that they are falling. He adds that the Blackberry handset, manufactured by Rim, has only just missed out on the top 20, making 23rd.
Respondents who took part in the survey were asked to rate a number of major names within six categories. These were style, originality, authenticity, desirability, innovation and finally uniqueness.
