Coca-Cola remains top of the heap in Interbrand’s 2009 list of Best Global Brands.  IBM, Microsoft, GE and Nokia make up the rest of the top 5 in the list which remains unchanged from the 2008 ranking.

Interbrand brands itself as the largest global brand consultancy and produces the Best Global Brands list annually.  It ranks market-facing brands with at least one-third of revenues originating outside its home country through a combination of traditional financial analysis and various measures of the brand’s strength.

Asian representation in the list is mainly through a handful of better-known Japanese brands – Toyota (8), Honda (18), Sony (29), Canon (33), Nintendo (39), Panasonic (75) & Lexus (96).  South Korea’s Samsung (19) and Hyndai (69) also fared well.

A recent New York Times article discusses how blogging can be a low-cost, high-return marketing tool for small businesses. Blogging is particularly useful for consultants and professional services firms who need to position themselves as experts in their fields.

The examples discussed in the article show how small companies can use blogging to good advantage, but it does require good writing skills and not inconsiderable time commitment. To be truly effective, companies must formulate a cohesive strategy for their blogs and build a sustainable content pipeline.