Jio takes sector by storm as strongest telecom brand, Verizon most valuable

For the second year in a row Verizon has claimed the title of the world’s most valuable telecoms brand following an 8 percent increase in brand value to US$68.9 billion.

This brand value growth has not only propelled it back into the top 10 most valuable brands globally in the Brand Finance Global 500 2021 ranking, but has meant the brand has continued to widen the lead over second placed AT&T (brand value down 13 percent to US$51.4 billion). 15 further US brands feature in the Brand Finance Telecoms 150 2021 ranking, with a combined brand value of US$182.8 billion.

“Two years since the beginning of Verizon’s business transformation program, Verizon 2.0 – focusing on the transformation of the network, the go-to-market, the brand, and the culture of the business – the brand continues to make leaps and bounds across the industry,” Brand Finance said.

Reliance Jio strongest telecom brand

Despite only being founded in 2016, India’s Reliance Jio was Brand Finance’s headline performer in its new ranking, because not only was it the fastest growing in terms of brand value, it also topped the charts based on brand strength.

Marketing investment, customer perception, staff satisfaction, and corporate reputation, are some of the metrics used by Brand Finance to measure a company’s brand strength.

Brand Finance highlighted Jio’s rapid rise to become India’s biggest and strongest telecom brand– and the third largest in the world – because it is affordable, often free, with plans that changed the way Indians use the Internet to explain its brand strength.

No weakness

“The dominance of the brand across the nation is evident from the results from Brand Finance’s original market research. Jio scores highest in all metrics – consideration conversion, reputation, recommendation, word of mouth, innovation, customer service and value for money – compared to its telecom competitors in India,” the analyst firm noted.

“The brand has no major weaknesses within the sector, and unlike other telecoms brands globally, Jio has shown that it has broken the mold and enjoys genuine affection from consumers,” they noted.

In addition, Jio struck as the largest in the country with almost 400 million subscribers, by maintaining affordable plans, offering 4G to millions of users for free, simultaneously transforming how Indians consume the Internet – known as the ‘Jio effect’.

Based on Brand Finance’s calculations, which use the BSI score and revenue metrics amongst other things, Jio increased its brand value by 50 percent from last year’s ranking to US$4.8 billion, making it the fastest growing in the telecoms space.

However, being amongst the biggest in the world did not help China’s three telecom giants, all of which saw substantial declines in the value of their brands.