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MTN remains SA’s most valuable brand

MTN’s brand value has grown by 8% over the last year to R44.2-billion, maintaining its leadership as South Africa’s most valuable brand, according to the latest report by Brand Finance, the independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy.

MTN’s brand value grew primarily because of customers spending more on data services, consistent with a global trend of mobile phones being used to transmit more data at the expense of traditional voice traffic. As a result, MTN’s overall revenue grew by 7.2% last year, with data revenue growing by 34.2%.

David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, commented: “MTN is South Africa’s most valuable brand because of their industry leadership, both domestically and further afield. They are increasingly recognised throughout Africa by their customers as providing a high-quality service, because their brand image is deeply rooted on more than just marketing campaigns.”

First National Bank was the big winner over the last year with its brand value rising 22% to R19.4 billion. This earned First National a jump from being South Africa’s 7th biggest brand to now becoming the 3rd most valuable brand in the country.

In addition to measuring overall brand value, Brand Finance also evaluates the relative strength of brands, based on factors such as marketing investment, familiarity, loyalty, staff satisfaction, and corporate reputation. Along with the level of revenues, brand strength is a crucial driver of brand value.

According to these criteria, Capitec Bank (brand value up 35% to R6.8 billion) became South Africa’s strongest brand, taking over from First National Bank. Capitec’s brand strength has benefited from positive perceptions amongst its core customer base, which is consistent with their introduction of more unsecured credit offerings with interest rates as low as 12.9% in some circumstances. A focus on reducing legal and administration costs are particularly.

South Africa’s top 10 brands by brand value are:

  • MTN
  • Vodacom’
  • FNB
  • ABSA
  • Standard Bank
  • Woolworths
  • Sasol
  • Investec
  • Nedbank
  • Multichoice