eBay: +21%
The online auctioneer was the biggest gainer in global brand value in 2005. But eBay's share price this year is well below last year's -- off some 35% at press time from its 52-week high as analysts question its decision to raise commission prices earlier this year at the same time Yahoo! is offering free auction services.
eBay's business model is all about empowering consumers to buy and sell anything they want without the burdens of licenses, rent, or insurance, and it is perhaps the ultimate interactive brand. At eBay Live!, its member conference held last June, the company set up a large area on the show floor to let people make comments. Such interaction is key to eBay's brand value. When it invites members to air grievances, for example, those activities get covered on the Net, saying more about the company than any ad could.