Dive Brief:

• Netflix is the fastest-growing brand of 2019 in the U.S., as its brand value grew 105% over the past year to $21.2 billion, according to a new report by independent brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance that was shared with Marketing Dive. 
• Amazon retained its spot as the most valuable brand, growing nearly 25% to $187.9 billion. Apple ranked No. 2 with a $153.6 billion value and Google third with $142.8 billion. Microsoft saw a 47% increase in brand value to $119.6 billion, putting it in fourth place. AT&T dropped to No. 5, after its brand value increased just 6% over the past year to $87 billion. 
• YouTube is also growing rapidly, as it jumped 10 places to rank No. 13, after its brand value increased 46% to $37.8 billion. Twitter’s brand value increased 66% to $3.2 billion, jumping nearly 100 spots to reach No. 258. Instagram made the list for the first time at No. 47 with a brand value of $16.7 billion, while Snapchat fell 200 ranks to 469th place since its value dropped 39% to $1.5 billion. Disney was the top-performing traditional media brand, entering the top 10, as its value increased 40% to $45.7 billlion.

Dive Insight:

Netflix’s growth and ranking as the fastest-growing brand comes as the streaming service worked to differentiate itself with high-quality, popular original programming that continues to resonate with viewers. The content has seen more acclaim and awards recently, including a best picture Oscar nomination this year for "Roma."

Disney's strong performance follows the company's $71 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox and comes as interest is strong in its plans to release a streaming service that would compete with Netflix later this year. Netflix recently disbanded its global marketing team, as the company plans to revamp its marketing strategy to compete in the increasingly competitive streaming market.

Netflix was also the top-ranked brand in consumer buzz, referring to whether consumers heard anything negative or positive about the brand, according to an YouGov analysis. The platform was also listed as the third most intimate brand among millennials, according to the MBLM Brand Intimacy 2019 Study, with YouTube ranking No. 1. YouTube’s brand value is also on the rise, mostly due to its vast content portfolio, growing premium library and peer-to-peer video creation, according to Brand Finance.

Amazon retaining its place as the most valuable brand comes as the brand has carved out an edge in several different sectors, including e-commerce, advertising and video content streaming. Amazon’s U.S. ad business is expected to increase more than 50% in 2019, with its share of the digital ad market reaching 8.8%, according to eMarketer. Amazon now ranks as the No. 3 digital ad platform. 

The Brand Finance reported pointed out that Facebook held onto its sixth place ranking, even though its brand strength saw the second-worst decline among the top 100 brands, following the Cambridge Analytica scandal and other privacy issues that came out over the past year. The report predicts that Boeing could see an impact in next year’s rankings after the fatal 737 crash this month.