Tech giants Google, Apple, Samsung and Amazon remain at the top of the pack – yet 30% of the 2022 Top 100 brands are new entrants to the listing 

Google, Apple, Samsung, and Amazon are the most inspiring brands in the world, according to Wunderman Thompson’s ‘Inspire Score: Top 100 2022’, released this month.

Now in its third year, the Inspire Score is Wunderman Thompson’s proprietary diagnostic tool which measures a brand’s inspiration status and uncovers the brand attributes that fuel business growth through their ability to inspire people. The study proves that inspiring brands are able to grow their market share more quickly and charge a higher premium for their products and services than their competitors.

Google once again takes the top spot as the Most Inspiring Brand in the World today. Apple, Samsung, and Amazon remain in the top four for the second year running, cementing their position as powerful inspiration engines thanks to their ability to place themselves at the centre of people’s lives – and stay there. Colgate has taken the fifth spot for 2022 as they strive to reimagine a healthier future for all people, their pets, and our planet.

Parusha Partab, Group Strategy Director at Wunderman Thompson South Africa, said: “Since its inception, Wunderman Thompson South Africa has leveraged the insights provided by both the Inspire global study and diagnostic tool to offer the ambitious brands we service an acute understanding of their ranking and opportunities for growth. 

Every year the anticipation of the Inspire Score Top 100 ranking has increased as it offers us a clear reflection of the best-performing brands for the year, as well as an insight into the next year's dominant trends. With brand growth becoming increasingly contested, this becomes a competitive advantage as we can see which brands can grow their market share more quickly and charge a price premium." 

Other key insights from the study include:

- There have been strong gains for mobility brands such as Tesla and Uber as the world has opened up again post-COVID, with a large number of automotive brands also featuring in the Top 100

- Social media brands have also seen gains, showcasing their role in animating people’s lives and social interactions - physical as well as virtual. The inspiring power of brands such as Instagram and WhatsApp also continues to grow, with TikTok making the Top 100 for the first time this year

- Streaming brands continue to inspire, too. Netflix is now in the Top 20, and Disney+ is a new entrant in the Top 100 – out-inspiring even its master brand 

- Impulse brands have done well, perhaps because life is becoming a bit more spontaneous again, and beer, spirits, and treats have all risen

The ‘Inspire Score: Top 100’ was first launched in 2020 as part of Wunderman Thompson’s global brand study, Inspiring Growth; the world’s largest ongoing research project into inspiration. This explores why brands need to be inspirational, how inspiration drives growth and what brands can do to inspire their customers. Meanwhile, the annual list of the Top 100 Most Inspiring Brands in the World tracks and analyses the brands that are best at inspiring their customers; revealing how inspiration affects a brand’s ability to drive growth in market share and command a price premium.

Download the full ranking here. Join the conversation using #WTInspire.