Shell is the only oil company to make the latest Top 100 list of global brands, according to the latest report.
The annual research, conducted by the world's leading brand analysts, Interbrand, ranked Shell 75th in the Top 100 Global Brands with the oil giant showing a seven percent improvement in its brand value at $4.7bn, despite an oil spill off the Nigerian coast during the year. According to Interbrand, the company was able to maintain its brand image ahead of the other oil majors in a difficult year for the oil industry in general.
However, Interbrand sees Shell's foray into Arctic drilling as a potential brand risk in the near future, although in 2012 Shell was also ranked 35th in the Top 50 Green Brands, just one place lower than last year's report.
Toyota came out ahead of its automaker rivals to lead the Green Brand table outright, helped by the continued popularity of the Prius and Toyota's other low-emissions initiatives. The Japanese manufacturer was 10th in the overall Top 100 global brand list, with Mercedes Benz and BMW in 11th and 12th place respectively. Honda, was the next closest in 21st place overall, although it ranked third overall in the Green Brand chart, one place ahead of VW.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Coca Cola topped the overall list with an estimated brand value of $77.8bn, helped by its sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics and celebration of its 125th Anniversary. Apple was second and the highest riser of all brands with a 129% improvement on a brand value which was just one billion dollars lower than Coke. IBM, Google and Microsoft made up the top five.