WPP Group, the world's largest advertising agency, has announced its annual BranZ TOP 100 Ranking, a ranking of brand value.

Overall, "Google," "Apple," "IBM," "Microsoft," and "McDonald's" make up the top five. "Tencent" and "Facebook" have increased in value from the previous year, and the value of social media is also on the rise, with "Twitter" and "LinkedIn" ranking within the top 100.

Other Japanese companies ranked include "Toyota" at 26th, "Honda" at 70th, "Nissan" at 90th, and "NTT Docomo" at 95th. Luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton (30th), Hermès (41st), Gucci (60th), and Prada (96th) also appeared on the ranking, following last year's ranking.

In the apparel value ranking, following Nike (1st), Zara (2nd), and H&M (3rd), Uniqlo ranked 4th, recording a 58% increase from the previous year. Uniqlo's brand value has increased every year since it first appeared on the apparel ranking in 2011, and this year's brand value has grown to $7.33 billion, close to Sony's $7.718 billion.

This is the 9th time the brand value ranking has been conducted. It is calculated using each company's publicly available financial information and the results of an annual consumer survey of brands conducted by the Millward Brown Group.