According to INC.com, the top four most valuable tech brands are Google, Apple, Amazon, and Samsung. In the chart we found to the left, you can see that these companies are leading the industry in valuation. How are they able to achieve this you ask? By being everything from an online retailer, tech producer, and music and video streaming service.

Amazon now has a physical presence due to their acquisition of Whole Foods. Google has a strong presence in the tech world because of its search engine and cloud capabilities and Apple and Samsung are valuable primarily because of the phones they have produced. The majority of Apple’s profits come from the iPhone and for Samsung, their Galaxy phones are the main product. All of these brands also have other electronic devices that have brought innovation to the technology world. Amazon has the Kindle and Alexa devices, Apple has Macbooks, Apple TV, iPads, Watches etc., Google has Chromebooks and Google Home, and Samsung has tablets, televisions, home security systems, and other home appliances. By combining physical products, online aspects, and innovative operating systems, these companies have become household names and have found success in the tech industry.

Becoming one of the four most valuable tech companies hasn’t happened without the use of constant dynamic and marketing changes. Google has formed 3 main insights to tackle the ever-growing digital marketing aspect as well as building and learning off of this data. On the site “Think With Google” the media technologies manager Meg Biron explains these 3 principles they utilize. These being “Uncover the right insights, build informed, dynamic creative, and leveraging programmatic technology (Biron, 1).” In short, they are doing much more research to base their marketing approaches on less of insights and more on data they can assure to work.

When it comes to Apple, it is clear to see how well they do on marketing to the masses. The chart illustrates the value of Apple over the last 18 years during their release of new products.

Looking back on past years can help give someone a sense of how far ahead Apple was in marketing to people who love to use their products. A major driver is Apple’s brick and mortar locations, serving as a beacon for people to come in and get their hands on the physical product. Another way they are at the forefront is their “Starting with the why” mentality. This is how Apple dominated the cellular phone market for so long, as you can see in the graph above.

We now are able to tackle the most valued brand of 2018, Amazon. From acquiring Whole Foods to now moving into retail locations in majors cities, this company is pushing into every technological and retail realm imaginable. In this graph below, you can see the long-term growth that has only continued to increase in the last 20 years. They have created a company that promotes customer satisfaction and ease of buying. Now, we are able to ask “Alexa” to buy anything from groceries to a new washer. From Amazon Prime subscriptions to new products, Amazons market growth has made one of the largest and quickest growths in concentrated time.

Samsung, in contrast, entered 2018 on a down note and has fallen behind the other three companies. A statement from the company noted that “The decline in the total smartphone shipment was due to a hike in marketing costs under strong seasonality and the lineup optimization of low-end models” which subsequently led to lower than average sales. Although, the most recent line of Galaxy phones has been marketed in an interesting fashion, building most of their advertisements around the video game ‘Fortnite’. This may seem like a niche market to get into, but Fortnite has exploded in popularity over the last year, influencing not only the gaming community but pop culture as a whole. This graph shows Fortnite as the most popular game of 2018 in terms of revenue. 

Along with having a huge player-base, Fortnite has played a significant role in expanding streaming services like twitch, giving gamers an avenue to watch their favorite players. By utilizing this game as a marketing strategy, one thing is clear: they’re not afraid to be a driving force in this new wave of advertising.

Newest Product Updates

Overall, these four major tech companies have created new products that have changed the tech industry and competed with each other tirelessly. After looking at their marketing strategies and their ability to make large moves in the industry, it is evident that their products are the major movers of the industry. For the remainder of 2018 and into 2019, these companies have products that are going to shape the future of the tech industry. Google continues to innovate more than just physical products from systems and processes to their goals and mission. They have released the spark of an idea that wants consumers to stop using their phone so much. Currently, Amazon does not have any major releases that have been hinted at in their marketing but are continuing to innovate their Alexa in good timing with the holiday season.Their Echo Dot is also new, but not making a huge dent in the industry. Apple, who just released a new iPhone is continuing to innovate their Apple Watch. Other than products specifically, Apple is continuing to create updates that are bettering their current products offerings, such an emoji additions, and software changes. Finally, Samsung has released the ideas of their “mixed reality” headphones and continue to update their Galaxy phone. Over time, they have fallen behind the updates of the other three companies, but continue to stay up to date at least.

With the rise of so many new products all the time, the technology industry just continues to boom. We know that over time it will only get more and more innovative as these four top companies compete with each other. It is encouraging to see so much change in the industry and will be interesting to see which companies are leading the market in the next 5-10 years.