Telecommunications giant MTN has been named South Africa’s most valuable brand for the twelfth time in the past thirteen years, according to brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance’s latest rankings.

The yearly Brand Finance South Africa 100 2023 report shows that MTN’s brand value continued to grow, recording an increase of 24% to R74.3-billion in 2022, with a value that is now 50% higher than prepandemic levels.

“This is an impressive statistic, considering the difficult operating conditions and the complex geopolitical environment that the brand has been faced with,” says Brand Finance Africa MD Jeremy Sampson.

“It is invariably the case that, when economic conditions are particularly challenging, strong brands show off their pedigree. As the world economy and South Africa recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, the brands that have continued to invest in their future are prospering.”

Brand Finance, which conducts the valuation of more than 5 000 brands each year, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports ranking brands across all sectors and countries, has ranked rival Vodacom as South Africa’s second most valuable brand.

Vodacom’s brand value increased 33% to R39.8-billion.

“Although Vodacom is not yet operating on the same scale as MTN, Brand Finance’s research found it is outperforming it in a number of key metrics surrounding customer satisfaction. These included consideration, use, reputation, quality and customer service,” he says.

The report shows South Africa’s most valuable sector is banking, increasing 28% in aggregate brand value and accounting for 24% of the total brand value and has five brands in the top ten of the ranking.

“A strong post-pandemic recovery has set South African banking brands up for impressive brand value growth in 2022,” adds Sampson, noting that the combined brand value of the 11 banking brands included in the ranking was R146.5-billion.

This is R25-billion more than the next most valuable sector – telecommunications – with six brands included in the ranking with a combined brand value of R121.5-billion, he says.

Standard Bank, with a brand value of R29.7-billion, is the third most valuable South African brand, making it the country’s most valuable banking brand for the second consecutive year.

The bank’s 27% year-on-year growth has further widened the gap between it and First National Bank, which increased its brand value by 5% to R26.1-billion, and Absa, which recorded a 19% increase in brand value to R25.3-billion, ranking fourth and fifth respectively.

Nedbank ranked eighth, with a brand value of R17.3-billion, while Investec, with a brand value that increased 15% to R16.8-billion, rose three places in the ranking to number nine, re-entering the top ten.

Woolworths ranked at six with a brand value of R21.7-billion and Mondi at ten with a brand value of R16.8-billion.

In the retail sector, Spar South Africa, with a brand value of R21.4-billion, emerged as the fastest-growing South African brand, up 48%, reflecting a positive outlook for South African retail brands, despite difficult operating conditions over the past year.

Spar South Africa opened 41 new stores in 2022 and was able to record 6% growth in revenue and increased forecast revenues.

Meanwhile, the Brand Finance South Africa 100 2023 report listed Pick n Pay, which increased its brand value by 30% to R13.5-billion, as the strongest brand, with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 93.9 out of 100 and a corresponding AAA+ rating.

“Pick n Pay has seen a 14-point BSI increase year-on-year to clinch the top spot for brand strength. Astonishingly, it is one of seven South African brands to achieve the elite AAA+ rating, five of which came from the retail sector,” he says, adding that only twelve brands achieved AAA+ brand rating in Brand Finance’s Global 500 2023 ranking of the world’s top 500 most valuable and strongest brands.

Woolworths, with a score of 93.4, FNB, scoring 93, Capitec at 93, Clicks at 92.4, Checkers at 92.2 and Dischem at 90.3 all achieved AAA+ ratings, followed by Old Mutual, with a score of 88.7, MTN at 88.7 and Game at 88.6, all of which achieved AAA ratings, positioned at rankings eight, nine and ten among South Africa’s top ten strongest brands.

Brand Finance also ranked South African companies through a Sustainability Perceptions Score, assessing how sustainable specific brands are perceived to be, which is linked to the Sustainability Perceptions Value that is then calculated for each brand.

The report shows that MTN achieved the highest Sustainability Perceptions Value at R8.6-billion and a Sustainability Perceptions Score of 5.23 out of 10, followed by Vodacom with a Sustainability Perceptions Value at R3.7-billion and a Sustainability Perceptions Score of 4.20 out of 10.

MTN Group’s strategic priority to create shared value with environmental, social and governance at the core was recognised in the latest Brand Finance awards, says MTN Group president and CEO Ralph Mupita.

“As well as being South Africa’s most valuable brand, MTN also has the highest sustainability perceptions value of any brand included in the South Africa 100 2023 ranking. This indicates how much brand value MTN has tied up in sustainability perceptions,” he says, noting that the results are an indicator of the work done to deliver on the group’s strategic intent, leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress, as part of its Ambition 2025 strategy.

Woolworths South Africa, which had a Sustainability Perceptions Value of R1.97-billion, achieved the highest Sustainability Perceptions Score, at 6.02 out of ten, followed by Checkers, which had Sustainability Perceptions Value of R2.47-billion and a Sustainability Perceptions Score of 5.60.