The art of branding is so critical to success that companies spend millions, even billions of dollars on it. The reason for doing this is simple: branding drives sales. Having a powerful and unique image can translate into billions of sales dollars. So much money is spent on developing a strong and sustainable brand, there is a formula for determining the value of a brand. Every year, Business Week publishes its Top 100 Global Brands showing estimated values in terms of dollars. The list below shows the top 10 brands for 2009.
| 2009 Rank | Company | Brand Value in $ (Millions) |
| 1 | Coca-Cola | 68,734 |
| 2 | IBM | 60,211 |
| 3 | Microsoft | 56,647 |
| 4 | GE | 47,777 |
| 5 | Nokia | 34,864 |
| 6 | McDonald’s | 32,275 |
| 7 | 31,980 | |
| 8 | Toyota | 31,330 |
| 9 | Intel | 30,636 |
| 10 | Disney | 28,447 |
Now, let me ask you, if you can form an emotional connection to a car or a soft drink, then do you think you can form an emotional connection to a person? Of course you can!
