MAM
Amazon, Apple emerge as most valuable global brands 2021: Kantar
New Delhi: Multinational giant Amazon consolidated its position as the world’s most valuable brand, growing 64 per cent to $ 684 billion, Kantar said in its latest BrandZTM Most Valuable Global Brands 2021 ranking released on Monday.
Amazon’s brand value grew by almost $268 billion this year and it became the first half-a-trillion-dollar brand, alongside Apple, at number two, valued at $612bn. The other brands that figured in the top ten most valuable global brands in 2021 were: Google, Microsoft, Tencent, Facebook, Alibaba, Visa, McDonald’s, and MasterCard.
China’s TikTok and USA’s Tesla are among the brands that doubled their brand values during the pandemic. Tesla even emerged as the fastest growing brand and became the most valuable car brand, growing its value by 275 per cent year-on-year to $ 42.6 billion, said the report.
Tech brands dominate global rankings
Seven of the top ten brands are from the tech sector. Tech has also enabled non-tech brands to achieve significant growth, for example Gucci – harnessing the power of TikTok during the pandemic, and Domino’s – leveraging online and delivery services. New entrant Zoom was one of the big tech stories of 2021, with its ease of use and reliability driving momentum with business and personal users. It entered the ranking at 52 with a valuation of $36.9bn.
World’s most valuable brands show record growth
Despite the economic downturn brought by the devastating wave of Covid-19, the report found that the world’s most valuable brands experienced record growth. Their total worth reached $7.1 trillion – equivalent to the combined GDP of France and Germany. This was largely driven by confidence derived from vaccine availability, economic stimulus packages, and improving GDP outlooks, said Kantar Group.
“Despite many facing a difficult year, our research has again proven that strong brands deliver superior shareholder returns, are more resilient, and recover more quickly,” said Kantar CMO, Nathalie Burdet. “With global e-commerce growing from 12 per cent to 15 per cent of all sales in 2020, it has been a positive year for brands involved in that value chain.”
Apparel brands overtake M&E brands
Despite reduced travel and lockdowns globally, apparel brands have collectively grown even more than media and entertainment brands in the ranking, as people redefined the boundaries between work and leisurewear. Adidas, Nike, and Puma all secured over 50 per cent value growth. Whilst, collectively, fast fashion did not grow as fast, notably, Uniqlo (+88 per cent) and H&M (+47 per cent) grew valuations significantly. The Top 20 retailers grew their brand value by a combined 48 per cent.
Success of subscription-based models
Microsoft innovated offers to adapt to new working environments and transitioned to subscription models to improve convenience and scalability, recording a growth of 26 per cent. Xbox (+55 per cent), Disney (+13 per cent), and Netflix (+55 per cent) all saw growth, while Spotify entered the ranking following a 454 per cent growth in subscribers from 2015-20 and a significant improvement in consumer brand equity.
Reputation: A Key factor
According to the report, reputation, especially for sustainable and ethical purposes, is increasingly a driver for brand growth. The luxury category saw 34 per cent brand growth with, predominantly, French and Italian luxury companies such as LVMH investing in their corporate reputation through pandemic-related initiatives, sustainable transformation, and support for social movements such as BLM. Similarly, L’Oréal Paris successfully bucked the trend across beauty brands in the pandemic, securing brand growth by flexing its assets and driving female empowerment.
Emphasis on Trust and Reliability
“Our analytics have uncovered that 70 per cent of what makes a brand successful is executing four fundamentals well: providing superior experience across consistently branded touchpoints, a range of well-designed and functional products and services, convenience, and exposure through great advertising. However, COVID-19 has emphasised consumer values such as trust and reliability. Those brands that are evolving their values, projecting leadership on these issues are demonstrating differentiation and standing out,” said Burdet.
Buying family medical insurance online in India has become a common option for individuals who want to secure health coverage for multiple family members under a single policy. However, many buyers are unsure about the exact steps involved in selecting and purchasing the right plan online.
In this guide, you will know the step-by-step process of buying family medical insurance online in India, along with the key factors to review before purchasing a suitable policy.
Step 1: Assess Your Family’s Healthcare Needs
Before buying online health insurance, check the healthcare needs of all family members. Check age, existing illnesses, regular medicines, and the likely need for hospital care later. This helps in selecting a suitable sum insured, policy type, and level of cover. It also reduces the chance of buying a plan that appears suitable but does not meet actual medical needs.
Step 2: Visit the Insurance Company’s Official Website
After understanding the family’s needs, visit the insurer’s official website and read the plan details carefully. Use the official platform to review eligibility, policy wording, waiting periods, cover details, exclusions, and renewal terms.
This step gives a clearer understanding of how the policy works before payment is made. It also helps avoid confusion caused by incomplete summaries on other pages.
Step 3: Compare Available Family Health Insurance Plans
A family medical insurance policy should be compared on factors beyond the premium. Review the sum insured, hospital network, room rent limits, pre- and post-hospitalisation cover, daycare treatment coverage, and waiting periods. It is also important to check treatment sub-limits and specific policy conditions.
Careful comparison helps determine whether a plan provides balanced coverage and whether its terms are suitable for the healthcare needs of the entire family.
Step 4: Choose the Right Policy and Start the Online Purchase
Once the options have been compared, select the policy that best fits the family’s medical needs and budget. Before starting the application, review the covered members, policy term, benefits, and main conditions again. This is an important stage because errors here can lead to the wrong cover amount, an unsuitable variant, or missing details that create problems during policy use.
Step 5: Calculate the Premium Using an Online Calculator
Use the online premium calculator before making the final choice. Enter the correct details, including age, city, number of insured members, and selected cover amount. The result helps in understanding the expected premium and whether the policy fits the annual budget. This step is useful because it allows cost and coverage to be reviewed together, instead of choosing a plan only because the premium looks lower.
Step 6: Fill in Personal and Medical Details
When filling in the proposal form, provide accurate details for each insured member. This includes name, date of birth, contact details, medical history, ongoing treatment, and previous insurance information if required.
Every answer should be complete and truthful. Incorrect or missing details can create difficulty later. Before you submit the form, read every section again and correct any mistakes.
Step 7: Make Payment Through the Secure Payment Gateway
After checking the form, go to the payment page and complete the transaction through the secure payment gateway. Review the premium, policy term, and entered details once more before confirming payment.
After the transaction is completed, save the receipt, reference number, or confirmation message carefully. Keeping this record is useful if you need to track the purchase or follow up on policy issuance later.
Step 8: Download and Keep Your Policy Document Safely
Once the policy is issued, download the policy document, schedule, and any related papers without delay. Read them carefully to confirm member names, policy period, sum insured, and major terms. Save a digital copy in a secure folder and keep a printed copy if needed. Proper record keeping makes future renewals, document checks, and policy servicing easier and more organised when information is required quickly.
Conclusion
Buying health cover online becomes easier when you handle each step with attention. From checking your family’s needs to reading the final document, every stage helps you make an informed choice. A careful approach can reduce mistakes, improve your understanding of policy terms, and help you choose coverage that matches your household’s medical needs, financial capacity, and long-term healthcare planning in a reliable way for your family over the long term.
