Google tops list of strongest brands

Google has taken the crown from Apple as the strongest brand among the world’s most valuable companies, according to the FutureBrand index.

The search engine giant edged ahead of Microsoft and Walt Disney who came in second and third respectively.

Apple dropped from first to fourth while ExxonMobil, last year’s runner-up, saw a catastrophic decline, falling to 87th place.

The FutureBrand Index, which is created by FutureBrand and sanctioned by PricewaterhouseCoopers, measures perceptions of brand strength of the world’s largest companies based on market capitalisation.