German operator group Deutsche Telekom is celebrating moving to the top of the European league in a new brand value study.

According to the Brand Finance Global 500, DT is the 11th most valuable brand in the world, up from 17th a year ago. That improvement enabled it to leapfrog compatriot brand Mercedes Benz to become the most valuable brand in Europe. Among the global telcos it is second only to perennial top 10 Verizon, but well ahead of 26th-placed AT&T. No other European operators even make it into the top 100.

“Telekom scores again as one of the world’s most valuable brands with an upward trend,” said Telekom Chief Brand Officer Ulrich Klenke, presumably between sips of champagne. “The fact that we have managed to become the strongest brand in Europe is a huge success for the group and makes me particularly happy.

“The positive development of brand value shows that we are successful with our global umbrella brand strategy. The result also reflects our economic and technological successes in Europe and the United States. A strong brand is an expression of a strong company. It increases the attractiveness for business partners and investors. The positive brand growth is also an expression of the trust that customers and the public place in Deutsche Telekom.”

OK Ulrich, we get it. The absence of other European telecom brands make it likely that most of DT’s brand equity for this study was derived from T-Mobile US, which seems to be doing well. In fact the whole thing is dominated by US companies, with only Samsung, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and TikTok preventing a clean sweep on the top 10.

This week marks the latest iteration of the World Economic Forum, where corporations get to schmooze with politicians and other global big-wigs, so it’s presumably not a coincidence that this source of corporate chest-beating has been published now. We also received press releases from Middle Eastern telco groups STC and e&, celebrating their positions in the list.

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