According to Brand Finance’s ASEAN 300 2023 report which ranks the region’s 300 most valuable and strongest brands, most airlines brands witnessed an uptick in brand values[1] this year. With the resumption of flight services as COVID-19 pandemic border restrictions loosened, as well as the signing of the 2022 ASEAN-EU Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement, airlines brands are bolstering flight services and operations through extensive marketing campaigns.
Singapore Airlines leads the fleet as the most valuable airlines brand (brand value up 8% to USD2.2 billion), followed by airasia (brand value down 7% to USD1.3 billion) and Thai Airways (brand value up 3% to USD1 billion). Growing in value but moving down the ranks, the following eight airlines brands are: Vietnam Airlines (brand value up 6% to USD377 million), Vietjet Air (brand value up 11% to USD362 million), Garuda Indonesia (brand value up 17% to USD276 million), Philippine Airlines (brand value USD275 million), Scoot (brand value up 32% to USD255 million), Malaysia Airlines (brand value up 5% to USD211 million), Cebu Pacific (brand value at USD194 million) and Citilink (brand value up 11% to USD125 million).
PETRONAS, in addition to being Malaysia’s most valuable and strongest brand, is crowned the most valuable brand in the region this year. Despite its 7% brand value decrease to USD12.7 billion, the Oil & Gas brand was able to defend its impressive AAA brand strength rating. The decline in PETRONAS’ brand value was mainly due to the depreciation of the Malaysian Ringgit against the US Dollar, as well as the nation’s projected GDP growth rate of between 4% to 5% in 2023 weighing down on the company’s sales projections.
Following closely behind is Singapore’s DBS (brand value up 21% to USD10.5 billion) and Vietnam’s Viettel (brand value up 2% to USD8.9 billion) who are ASEAN’s 2nd and 3rd most valuable brands respectively. PETRONAS is also joined by Thailand’s PTT (brand value up 20% to USD6.6 billion) and Indonesia’s Pertamina (brand value up 27% to USD3.7 billion) to form ASEAN’s top three most valuable Oil & Gas brands. PTT and Pertamina placed 4th and 11th place overall among ASEAN’s most valuable brands.
In recognition of its excellence in strategic group communications, PETRONAS was awarded a Gold in Marketing Interactive’s PR Awards 2022 for the Best COVID-19 Related Campaign category. Titled “Tunggu Sekejap Campaign”, PETRONAS’ campaign ran amidst the implementation of Malaysia’s pandemic measures – the Movement Control Order 2.0. The brand’s campaign was conceptualised to inspire Malaysians to soldier on during the difficult times of the pandemic.
Indonesia’s BCA emerged as the region’s strongest[2] brand with an outstanding brand strength rating of AAA+, claiming the 18th spot in our rankings, although its brand value decreased by 3% to USD2.9 billion. BCA’s decline in brand value was attributed to the depreciation of the Indonesian Rupiah against the US Dollar without a sufficient improvement in the business’ projection to overcome this swing. The banking brand leads a trio of brands including – in this specific order – Vietnam’s Vietcombank (brand value up 43% to USD1.9 billion) and PETRONAS as the region’s strongest brands in our rankings. Vietcombank is also ranked the 32nd most valuable ASEAN brand. Among banking brands in the region, Malaysia's Maybank (brand value up 1% to USD3.9 billion) comes in third strongest after BCA and Vietcombank. Among all 300 ASEAN brands listed in our rankings, Maybank is the fifth strongest brand and 10th most valuable brand.
In 2022, BCA made enormous gains, achieving a total loan growth of 11.7% year-on-year, driven by recovery in all its loan segments. BCA has been actively engaged in digitalisation initiatives, promotional campaigns as well as its commitment to sustainability. Being at the forefront of digitalisation in Indonesia’s banking industry, the brand has proven to be highly adaptable and innovative in initiating new digital solutions to enhance customer experience.
In 2022, it introduced a new QR Cross Border feature on its flagship mobile banking application, BCA Mobile, allowing customers to perform transactions overseas. Its digital service center, Halo BCA, also expanded its customer service platforms. BCA now allows customers to access Halo BCA via chat, email, social media and video banking services. BCA’s determination in upgrading Halo BCA’s services earned it the Grand Champion title in The Best Contact Center Indonesia Awards 2022 by Indonesia Contact Center Association.
The Hour Glass is the retail brand to watch for as the fastest growing brand in the region, charting an impressive brand value growth of 81% to USD149 million. The Singaporean brand also achieved a corresponding brand strength rating improvement from BBB to A. Coming in 255th in our rankings, its performance was boosted by a significantly broadened public fascination with high-quality mechanical timepieces, coupled with months of pandemic measures that allowed consumers to splurge more disposable income on such items as alternatives to travel and tourism.
The Singaporean brand is trailed by Vietnam’s Bank for Investment and Development (BIDV) (brand value up 69% to USD1.4 billion) and Philippines’ Jollibee (brand value up 53% to USD1.6 billion), which are ranked the second and third fastest growing brands in the region. BIDV and Jollibee secured 45th and 41st place respectively among ASEAN’s 300 most valuable brands.
Noteworthily, The Hour Glass’ impressive brand growth is more than double that of the second and third fastest growing retail brands in the region which are Singapore's Sheng Siong (brand value up 30% to USD363 million) and Thailand's HomePro (brand value up 28% to USD924 million). Sheng Siong and HomePro are correspondingly ranked the 140th and 66th most valuable brands in the region.
Increased demand, particularly from Malaysia and Australia, from the recognition of value and supply limitations of such timepieces have also bolstered their appeal and consequently The Hour Glass’ brand performance. While taking pride in being the official retailer for luxury timepieces from specialty houses and artisanal watch manufacturers, the brand also retails other luxury goods. For example, The Hour Glass collaborated with Ulysse Nardin to be the official retailer of Ulysse Nardin’s fascinating UFO table clock this July. The Hour Glass is the only retailer where the final release of this limited-edition timepiece in the champagne colorway can be purchased.
Alex Haigh, Managing Director – Asia Pacific of Brand Finance, commented:
“Airlines brands demonstrated impressive growth in Brand Finance’s Top 300 ASEAN brands rankings this year, as the relaxation of travel restrictions and establishment of the 2022 ASEAN-EU Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement presented new business opportunities for these brands. We also congratulate PETRONAS, BCA and The Hour Glass for being the most valuable, strongest and fastest growing brands in our rankings respectively."
[1] Brand value is understood as the net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market. The full ranking, additional insights, charts, more information about the methodology and definitions of key terms are available in the Brand Finance ASEAN 300 2023 report.
[2] Brand Finance determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity and business performance. Compliant with ISO 20671, Brand Finance’s assessment of stakeholder equity incorporates original market research data from over 150,000 respondents in 38 countries and across 31 sectors.