Google tops Apple in brand poll

" GOOGLE has retaken first place in a 2005 global poll of the world's most influential brands, while the eBay-owned Skype makes its debut at No.3.

The annual survey, compiled by online branding magazine brandchannel.com, often throws up controversial results, such as in 2004, when Arabic TV station Al Jazeera was voted the world's fifth most influential brand (down to 25th place this year).
But this year, the 2,528 branding professionals and students who voted came up with more conventional and - perhaps unsurprisingly for an online poll - tech-heavy answers when asked "Which brand had the most impact on our lives in 2005?".

Google last topped the poll in 2003 and in 2005 reclaimed the top slot from Apple Computer, which came second.

Skype took third place in the global list, while coffee chain Starbucks and Swedish furniture chain Ikea took fourth and fifth place respectively.

The poll did not take account of economic value of a brand, which regularly puts Coca-Cola in first place.

Brandchannel's North American top three - Apple, Google and Starbucks - were strikingly similar to the global outcome, with retailer Target taking fourth place, and cyclist Lance Armstrong in fifth ..."

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