Apple only brand more valuable than Olympics: Study

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Apple is the only brand that is larger than the Olympics, according to a new study.

According to a study by consultants Brand Finance, Apple's brand is the world's most valuable at 70 billion US dollars (67 billion dollars), while Olympics is the second most valuable brand at 45 billion dollars.

According to Sydney Morning Herald, the study also found that the sporting event is so big that it dwarfs the Coca-Cola, Samsung, GE and McDonald's, all of which have paid $US90 million ($87 million) apiece to be sponsors.

The study also revealed that despite the slowdown in the global economy, the Olympics brand had rocketed 87 percent in value since the Beijing Games, off the back of a rise in broadcast rights.

David Haigh, chief executive of Brand Finance, said that broadcast rights, which bring in $3.6 billion to the International Olympic Committee, were driving up the overall value and that as more Indians and Chinese get televisions, that figure is likely to rise even further.

"Given that Asia only represents about 15 per cent of the total value of broadcast rights, I would expect that figure to rise quite considerably as more people in Asia come on stream."

Andy Pontin, the chief executive of ad agency Clemenger BBDO, said it was remarkable that given the Olympics is only every four years its brand has greater 'resilience and saliency' than the products and services that we buy every day.

He added that it was a bonus that the Olympics brand was larger than the sponsors. "It shows that the Olympics is still a sporting event that is not dominated by one individual sponsor. That the event itself is bigger than the brands that support it, I think that's a good thing in this day and age."