Driven by its modern, cool image Smirnoff has retained its position as the world’s leading alcoholic drinks brand according to The Power 100, 2010, the annual survey of the world’s leading drinks brands published this week by brand valuation and strategy consultancy Intangible Business. Intangible Business, which works extensively in the drinks industry, researched nearly 10,000 spirit and wine brands across the globe to produce The Power 100, now in its fifth year.
The league table, which assesses both the financial contribution of each brand alongside its strength in the eyes of the consumer, has been compiled by combining scores from a panel of some of the world’s leading drinks industry experts with hard data. The brands are rated according to share of market, future growth, premium price position, awareness, relevance, heritage and brand perception. Smirnoff achieved an overall score of 93.6%, giving it a significant margin over the other brands that make up the top ten. Johnnie Walker remains the world’s leading whiskey brand at number 2 in The Power 100, despite seeing its score fall by 20%, keeping it ahead in the whiskey sector from Jack Daniel’s (6 overall), Chivas Regal (8 overall), Ballantine’s (10 overall) and Jim Beam (15 overall).
Bacardi, the number one rum brand and number 3 in the overall The Power 100, came narrowly behind Johnnie Walker, but comfortably ahead of Martini Vermouth in 4th place and Hennessy in 5th place. The biggest climber in the Top 20 is Chilean wine brand Concha y Toro, which climbs five places to number 17. Other big climbers in The Power 100 include Cuban rum brand Havana Club (up seven places to 25); Cognac brand Rémy Martin (up six places to 27) and American wine brand Robert Mondavi, which climbs six places to number 31 on this year’s table and Australian wine brand LINDEMANS, which climbs eight places to number 55.

There are nine new brands in this year’s The Power 100, the highest of which -Swedish vodka brand Svedka – comes straight in at number 46. Others include Russian Standard (54), Wyborowa at 59, Aperol (70), Clan Campbell (73), William Lawson’s (78), Clan MacGregor (89), Three Olives (94) and Wild Turkey (100).
They replace established brands in The Power 100 including Banrock Station, Dom Perignon, Kumala, Lanson and Tattinger. The USA is the country with the most brands in The Power 100 with 18 brands, led by Jack Daniel’s, Gallo and Jim Beam; Scotland has 16 brands in The Power 100, led by Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal and Ballantine’s, and France with 14 brands, led by Hennessy, Moet et Chandon and Ricard, although France has four fewer brands in this year’s table compared to last. Stuart Whitwell, Joint Managing Director of Intangible Business, comments: ‘The biggest brands have taken quite a battering, marking the end to a 15 year drive to premiumisation.
This has been replaced with a drive to value which new entrants are taking advantage of. Vodka is still a high growth area with fewer barriers to entry and greater consumer choice emerging from both established companies and new value entrants. Whitwell adds: “It will be interesting to see if consumers return to the big brands once their economic situation improves. Or perhaps greater choice and innovation has changed the landscape for good.” As the world comes out of recession and affluence returns, thechallenge for these biggest brands will be to attract consumers back.

1. Smirnoff
Smirnoff the untouchable’ has become ‘Smirnoff the vulnerable’. Despite launching a wide range of flavored variants and a number of quality variants, Smirnoff was unable to stop the inevitable decline in volume. Its brand score increased by 8% but it faces fresh challenges at the top end from Absolut, now in its second year under Pernod Ricard’s management, and others such as Russian Standard, Skyy and Grey Goose. It is also being undermined from below, from the likes of Svedka – the highest new entrant in 2010- and Eristoff. Diageo’s plans for its own value vodkas may protect its decline but whatever happens, Smirnoff will have to fight hard.

2. Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker has had a pretty tough year with volumes down 11% and its brand rating falling 4%. However, Johnnie Walker still remains the most powerful whisky brand in the world outstripping its nearest rivals by some margin- three times bigger than its nearest Scotch rival, J&B,and 50% bigger than its nearest US whiskey rival, Jack Daniel’s. With aheritage dating back 200 years, an inventory that can date back a generation, and a five-strong product range that successfully segments taste and quality profiles, Johnnie Walker will take some catching.

3. Bacardi
Bacardi is a consistent strong performer in this year’s The Power 100, virtually being the rum market. However, even this power brand was not immune to the forces of economic malaise. Its volumes fell as did its brand rating although it managed to keep its bronze position in The Power 100, 2010.

4.Martini Vermouth
The sustained appeal of cocktails and Martini’s consistent association and sponsorship of glamorous events such as motor sport helped prevent a significant fall in sales this year. Its brand rating was 2% lower than last year which resulted in an overalldecline of 6%. Positioning Martini as a versatile summer long drink and pitcher option when mixed with fruit juice will extend the brand’s relevance and opportunities for consumption. Martini’s domestic market continues to provide a firm base from which further international penetration is managed.

5.Hennessy
The sustained appeal of cocktails and Martini’s consistent association and sponsorship of glamorous events such as motor sport helped prevent a significant fall in sales this year. Its brand rating was 2% lower than last year which resulted in an overall decline of 6%. Positioning Martini as a versatile summer long drink and pitcher option when mixed with fruit juice will extend the brand’s relevance and opportunities for consumption. Martini’s domestic market continues to provide a firm base from which further international penetration is managed.

6. Jack Daniel’s
Its iconic square bottle and black and white label help differentiate Jack Daniel’s from the rest of the whiskey market. Jack Daniel’s volumes increased slightly in one of the most difficult years for a generation, testament to the brand’s strength and loyal following. It is rewarded by moving up one place in The Power 100, 2010.

7. Absolut
Absolut’s transition to the Pernod Ricard stable has inevitably resulted in a, most likely temporary, decline in volume. The brand has also lost its status as the world’s strongest vodka brand to Smirnoff. However, Absolut’s history of innovative marketing activities, that have given it its unique position in the market, gives the brand a solid platform from which to regain its crown.

8. Chivas Regal
Like most brands, Chivas Regal was affected by the recession, losing volume for the first time in years. The brand’s premium range of aged whisky continues to be appreciated as one of the finestin the world. Pernod Ricard enhances the brand’s premium status with sponsorship of premium creative events such as Chivas and Cannes Film Festival

9. Captain Morgan
p15_captain_morgan
Captain Morgan enters the top 10 in for the first time in The Power 100, 2010, moving up two places, displacing Baileys whose volumes fell 11%. Captain Morgan, reached the top 10 on its own merits, carefully steered by Diageo and entering into the spirit of social media trend, accumulating over 200,000 Facebook fans.

10. Ballantine’s
Ballentine’s held its position in the top 10 in The Power 100, 2010. Its six-strong range caters for different tastes, giving consumers choice without having to leave the brand. The brand is beginning to make inroads into the lucrative cocktail market which will not only increase its volumes but will introduce the Ballantine’s brand to a new generation of loyal followers.
Methodology
Nearly 10,000 brands in the spirits and wine sectors were researched to derive a list of the 100 most powerful spirits and wine brands in the world. Power is defined by a brand’s ability to generate value for its owner. Value is classified by a series of measures as identified below. The population for the research is all current and potential users of alcoholic drinks.

Scoring Hard Measures
Share of market: volume-based measure of market share Brand growth: projected growth based on 10 years’ historical data and future trends Price Positioning: a measure of a brand’s ability to command a premium Market Scope: number of markets in which the brand has a significant presence

Soft Measures

Brand Awareness: a combination of prompted and spontaneous awareness.
Brand Relevancy: capacity to relate to the brand and a propensity to purchase.
Brand Heritage: a brand’s longevity and a measure of how it is embedded in local culture.
Brand Perception: loyalty and how close a strong brand image is to a desire for ownership.
A panel of leading experts in the drinks industry independently ranked each selected brand out of 10 on the above measures (10 = high, 0 =low). The scores given by the individual panel members were aggregated and averaged to reach a total score for each brand. A total score was achieved by multiplying a brand’s weighted volume by its brand score, within a defined range. The weighting is designed to adjust the volumes to a comparable level. Brand score is a derivate of the 8 measures of brand strength. This results in a ranking of the world’s most powerful alcoholic drinks brands.

About Intangible Business
Intangible Business was established in 2001 to provide an independent approach to brand valuation, brand strategy and brand development. As well as experts in brand valuation, Intangible Business is now an inter nationally recognised leader in all IP valuation, including copyright valuation, trademark valuation, valuing websites, valuing databases and software