Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2014: CEO Jez Frampton Predicts Alibaba, Lenovo Will Enter 2015 Rankings [VIDEO]

Interbrand’s 15th annual Best Global Brands Report was released on Thursday, and the top spots looked too familiar, with Apple Inc. and Google Inc. remaining No. 1 and No.2, respectively.

Jez Frampton, Interbrand’s global chief executive officer, spoke to IBTimes TV at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday about how the Best Global Brands are calculated each year and which surprise companies made the list in 2014. Here's what he had to say.

Interbrand's methodology for ranking its Best Global Brands list includes three key components: an analysis of the financial performance of the branded products or services, the role the brand plays in purchase decisions, and the brand's competitive strength. Interbrand also gathers financial data from Thomson Reuters and consumer goods data from Datamonitor. Frampton said the company analyzes a publicly traded corporation’s earnings reports to determine how far into the future the growth of the brand is likely to continue.

Huawei Technology Co. Ltd., a Chinese telecommunications and network equipment provider, was the first Chinese company to appear on Interbrand’s Best Global Brands list in the history of the consultancy’s rankings. Frampton hinted Chinese computer technology company Lenovo Group Limited is close to making the top 100, but would not reveal how far away. Another company likely to enter the list next year is Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. following its blockbuster IPO in September.

The automotive sector surprisingly dominated the report with 14 brands and three of the top five risers on the list included auto giants such as Audi, Nissan and Volkswagen. Meanwhile, the technology sector came in second with 13 brands named on the list.

“The auto industry obviously has gone through a big recovery since 2009 and 2010," Frampton said. "I think you could probably argue we’ve seen more innovation in that industry over the last five years than maybe in the previous 25 [years].”

However, a few companies previously named to the list were noticeably absent. Computer technology company Dell Inc., luxury sports car manufacturer Ferrari, Avon Products Inc., Heinz Company and Möet & Chandon all dropped off the annual list. In addition, Japanese consumer electronics company Nintendo Co. Ltd. dropped 33 places to last place on the list, and Finnish communications and information technology provider Nokia Corporation saw the largest decline in value among the top 100 brands.

“There’s nothing that says because you’re in a specific industry you will be successful,” Frampton said. “As brands, there’s challenges for everybody.”