World domination for WeChat as it becomes fastest growing brand

Chinese messaging and social media app WeChat is the world’s fastest growing brand according to the latest report by independent brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance.

The app, which has more than a billion monthly users, is owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent. It’s a very different beast to WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, and since its launch it has evolved to enable users to make payments or even book flights. However, it remains largely unused outside China.

Brand Finance’s report [https://brandirectory.com/reports/fastest-growing-100-2019] recorded a 1540% five-year brand value growth (75% CAGR) for WeChat. Every year, Brand Finance values 5,000 of the world’s biggest brands. The 100 fastest growing brands from among those featured consistently in the Brand Finance Global 500 ranking over the past five years are in the inaugural Brand Finance Fastest Growing Brands 2019 ranking.

Brand Finance valuation director Alex Haigh said: “WeChat has successfully entrenched itself in Chinese society, a feat unmatched by any other brand. However, despite attempts to launch in the Western world, the brand has failed to gain a strong foothold in the market, against stiff competition from incumbents, such as Facebook and WhatsApp. Now the Chinese economy is starting to stall, it raises the question whether Chinese brands can match domestic growth internationally.”

Chinese and US brands monopolise the ranking with 39 brands from each nation among the world’s top 100 fastest growing. The Chinese brands dominate, however, claiming two out of every three spots in the top 30, and with their combined worth accounting for 48% of the total brand value in the ranking and equating to a staggering US$856.8 billion.

Chinese brands’ rise both at home and on the global stage has been meteoric. Slightly behind China, US brands account for 40% of the total brand value in the