DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Aramco continues to hold a place in the annual BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands Report 2025 by marketing data and analytics company Kantar.

Although it dropped by eight places to No. 22, Aramco is the only brand from the Middle East to have a presence in the global ranking.

US brands dominate the list, comprising 82 percent of the total value of the top 100 brands.

However, the report signals changing times, with Chinese brands having doubled their value over the past 20 years, now making up 6 percent of the value of the top 100 brands.

European brands, on the other hand, have seen a decline. They now account for 7 percent — down from 26 percent in 2006 — of the top 100 brands.

The top five spots are taken by tech companies Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Nvidia.

“Innovators keeping up with consumer needs or redefining them entirely are the brands fundamentally reshaping the Global Top 100 over the past two decades,” said Martin Guerrieria, head of Kantar BrandZ.

The most successful brands, like Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft, have long moved away from their original product base, he added.

Apple retained its top position for the fourth year in a row with a brand value of $1.3 trillion, up 28 percent from 2024.

Google and Microsoft recorded a 25 percent and 24 percent increase in brand value this year compared to last year, while Amazon’s brand value rose by a massive 50 percent.

ChatGPT debuted on the list this year in 60th place, showing “how a brand can find fame and influence society to the extent that it changes our daily lives,” Guerrieria said.

He cautioned that as competition grows in the AI space, “OpenAI will need to invest in its brand to preserve its first-mover momentum.”

Despite controversies and concerns, Instagram and Meta saw significant growths of 101 percent and 80 percent, respectively, while TikTok grew by a modest 25 percent.

The success of brands like Apple and Instagram “underlines the power of a consistent brand experience that people can relate to and remember,” said Guerrieria.

He added: “In a world of digital saturation and tough consumer expectations, brands need to meet people’s needs, connect with them emotionally and offer something others don’t to succeed. They need to be not just different, but meaningfully so.”

BASEL: Most contestants at the Eurovision Song Contest are seeking as much publicity as possible.
Israel’s Yuval Raphael is keeping a low profile.
The 24-year-old singer has done few media interviews or appearances during Eurovision week, as Israel’s participation in the pan-continental pop music competition draws protests for a second year.
Raphael is due to perform Thursday in the second semifinal at the contest in the Swiss city of Basel. Oddsmakers suggest Raphael is likely to secure a place in Saturday’s final with her anthemic song “New Day Will Rise.”
Israel has competed in Eurovision for more than 50 years and won four times. But last year’s event in Sweden drew large demonstrations calling for Israel to be kicked out of the contest over its conduct in the war against Hamas in Gaza.
More than 52,800 people in Gaza have been killed in Israel’s military offensive, according to the territory’s health ministry.
About 200 people, many draped in Palestinian flags, protested in central Basel on Wednesday evening, demanding an end to Israel’s military offensive and the country’s expulsion from Eurovision. They marched in silence down a street noisy with music and Eurovision revelry.
Many noted that Russia was banned from Eurovision after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“It should be a happy occasion that Eurovision is finally in Switzerland, but it’s not,” said Lea Kobler, from Zurich. “How can we rightfully exclude Russia but we’re still welcoming Israel?”
Last year, Israeli competitor Eden Golan received boos when she performed live at Eurovision. Raphael told the BBC that she expects the same and has rehearsed with background noise so she won’t be distracted.
“But we are here to sing and I’m going to sing my heart out for everyone,” she said.
Anti-Israel protests in Basel have been much smaller than last year in Malmo. Another protest is planned for Saturday in downtown Basel, 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the contest venue, St. Jakobshalle arena.
But concern by some Eurovision participants and broadcasters continues.
More than 70 former Eurovision contestants signed a letter calling for Israel to be excluded. Several of the national broadcasters that fund Eurovision, including those of Spain, Ireland and Iceland, have called for a discussion about Israel’s participation.
Swiss singer Nemo, who brought the competition to Switzerland by winning last year, told HuffPost UK that “Israel’s actions are fundamentally at odds with the values that Eurovision claims to uphold — peace, unity, and respect for human rights.”
At Wednesday’s protest, Basel resident Domenica Ott held a handmade sign saying “Nemo was right.”
She said the nonbinary singer was “very courageous.”
“If Russia couldn’t participate, why should Israel?” she said.
The European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, pointed out that Israel is represented by its public broadcaster, KAN, not the government. It has called on participants to respect Eurovision’s values of “universality, diversity, equality and inclusivity” and its political neutrality.