Airbnb is the fastest-growing brand of 2023, with a 22% increase in brand value from last year, according to a new report from Omnicom’s brand consultancy Interbrand. The rental-booking platform is the top riser despite entering Interbrand’s annual ranking of 100 brands just last year.
Marketing News & Strategy
Airbnb is Interbrand’s fastest-growing brand of 2023
The rental-booking platform is benefiting from travel demand and smart marketing
Airbnb unseats Tesla as the fastest-growing brand in this year's rankings.
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Airbnb
Airbnb moved up eight places in rankings, from No. 54 to No. 46, with a brand value of $16 billion. The report attributed Airbnb’s growth to strong brand investments and a “solid financial outlook.” Airbnb reported $3.4 billion in revenue for the third quarter, up 18% from the year-earlier period, citing “strength in travel demand.” Airbnb’s marketing continues to promote its offering that categorizes properties based on features rather than just locations. The offering, introduced last year, aims to appeal to a growing consumer desire for flexibility. Earlier this year, Airbnb unveiled its Rooms offering, allowing guests to book a private room on a property. It also jumped on the “Barbie” fandom with a Dreamhouse listing.
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Airbnb unseats Tesla, Microsoft and Chanel, which were the fastest-growing brands in 2022 after each saw 32% increase year over year. Tesla, which also was the fastest-growing brand in 2021, finished 12th in the overall brand rankings this year. But the Elon Musk-run EV marketer had the slowest rate of growth among auto brands at 4%.
The report’s brand value metric differs from market capitalization. The value is calculated based on the financial performance of the branded products or services; the role the brand plays in purchase decisions; and the brand’s competitive strength and consumer loyalty—therefore, its ability to create sustainable demand and profit into the future. The research for the 2023 report covers the period between June 2022 to May 2023.
Automotive brands accounted for three of the top five fastest-growing brands. Porsche came in second, with its brand value growing 20%, followed by Hyundai in third with 18% growth and Ferrari in fourth with 16% growth. BMW was the 13th-fastest growing brand with 10% growth and it placed 10th in the overall ranking.
The total value of all brands in this year’s report increased by 5.7% to $3.26 trillion. It marks a significant slowing from the 16% growth in value last year, and 15% in 2021. Interbrand pointed to several reasons for the slowdown, including failures in brand leadership and uncertain forecasting around the economy and consumer behaviors.
“After a few years of strong brand growth, we have entered a period of stagnation, with this year’s table showing moderate growth in overall brand value among the world’s biggest brands,” said Gonzalo Brujó, global CEO of Interbrand, in a statement. “As we continue to navigate economic and environmental headwinds, there is a need for improved business cases and better brand management to drive future investment and sustain growth within traditional sectors and beyond. Those who can successfully leverage their brand into new consumer pools of potential will reap the rewards of strong brand growth.”
Tech still dominates
Interbrand’s list of top 10 brands in overall value remains dominated by tech companies. Apple took the top spot for the 11th year in a row and is the first brand to rise above half a trillion dollars in brand value. Microsoft came in second, valued at $316 billion, followed by Amazon at $276 billion. The top three brands account for a third of the total table value this year.
Google, Samsung, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Coca-Cola, Nike and BMW rounded out the top 10.
Falling brands
Five brands had particularly bad years by Interbrand’s standards, seeing their brand value drop more than 5%. Budweiser had one of the largest negative changes in brand value, falling 16%. The plummet comes as Anheuser-Busch InBev is still struggling to overcome sales woes related to the fallout of Bud Light partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The consumer backlash has affected sales for several of its brands.
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Intel also fell into the bottom five, with its brand value dropping 14%. Philips dropped 12%, Facebook fell 8% and 3M was down 7%. Interbrand cited a lack of direction as the reason for the drop-offs, meaning that brands’ actions didn’t add value or align with brand goals.
