MTN ranked Africa's most valuable brand

Johannesburg – MTN has been ranked Africa's most valuable brand in the authoritative BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2012 survey, released Tuesday, May 22.

MTN becomes the first and only African brand to make the list, debuting at position 88 in the prestigious annual survey.

Developed by leading research agency, Millward Brown Optimor, BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands is the only brand rankings that include consumer data as a component element in arriving at the brand value. The rankings survey over 150,000 people around the world.

The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Brands 2012 highlights the continuing impact of recession, the ongoing rise of technology and the growing power of emerging markets. In addition, the accompanying analysis identifies a number of themes that have emerged in the last 12 months, and are having a significant impact on brand and business performance.

The first three most valuable brands spots are taken by technology firms Apple, IBM and Google respectively, followed at fourth by fast food king McDonalds. At fifth is technology firm Microsoft, sixth is beverage king Coca-Cola, and then tobacco brand Marlboro at seventh, with telecoms firms at&t, verison and China Mobile following in that order. See the complete rankings

Jennifer Roberti, Executive for Marketing, MTN Group, says the recognition by BrandZ is humbling for a young brand such as MTN. “For MTN, it's about brand relevance. MTN has established a number of Foundations to work with our communities to address socio-economic challenges in our markets. We also continue to introduce products and services that add value to the daily lives of our customers and communities alike.”

MTN is synonymous with sponsorship properties that are relevant, and thus, connect with customers. These include its support of music and sport, particularly football across its markets in Africa. Amongst its involvement in football, Africa's leading mobile operator sponsors current African champions, Zambia, UEFA Champions League giant-killers, Apoel FC of Cyprus, four teams in South Africa's professional football league, street soccer in Lagos, Nigeria, football league in Swaziland, MTN FA Cup in Ghana, and is a broadcast sponsor of the English, German and Spanish leagues on key sports channels on the continent. MTN's music properties include South Africa's premier music awards, the MTN SAMAs, MTV Meets...with MTN, the MTN Bushfire Festival in Swaziland and MTN Project Fame West Africa.

The latest accolade comes hot on the heels of another impressive achievement earlier this year, when MTN was rated the 188th most valuable brand in the world in the Brand Finance Global 500 survey. The study, released in March, saw MTN improve 12 places from last year.

Roberti added that MTN's performance in global brand surveys can also be attributed to the company's investments on the continent. “MTN has been investing in Africa since 1994, making significant commitments towards infrastructure and products and services unique to the needs of our customers on the continent. MTN Mobile Money, Pay As You Go and related mobile-based financial services offerings come to mind. As a result, MTN views this recognition as another acknowledgement of the contribution our brand continues to make in touching the lives of our communities and customers.

“However, the listing is not only an appreciation of the socio-economic impact mobile telephony through MTN has on the continent, but also signifies the growth of our brand over the years. We are grateful to our employees for their 'Can Do' attitude and to our customers for their support. Their commitment, loyalty and trust in our brand go a long way towards making MTN the most admired brand on the continent. Furthermore, this accolade further inspires us to continue exploring innovative ways to offer them more value in their MTN simcards.”