According to the first European brand value study, presented in Vienna by the European Brand Institute, Europe's most valuable brand is Nokia, which the study estimates is worth $40.6 billion. Nokia came ahead of Euro-giants like LVMH, Unilever, Telefonica, Vodafone, Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Telekom, BMW, France Telecom and inBEV.

The first European brand value study, powered by NOVOMATIC and RAIFFEISEN, was presented in Vienna by the European Brand Institute. More than 3,000 brand corporations in 24 countries and 16 industries were analyzed.

Europe's most valuable brand corporations are:

1. Nokia (EUR 32.332 billion),
2. LVMH (EUR 29.831 billion),
3. Unilever (EUR 25.136 billion),
4. Telefonica (EUR 23.858 billion),
5. Vodafone (EUR 22.550 billion),
6. Mercedes-Benz (EUR 20.483 billion),
7. Deutsche Telekom (EUR 18.269 billion),
8. BMW (EUR 17.298 billion),
9. France Telecom (EUR 17.068 billion),
10. inBEV (EUR 16.873 billion).
    

The U.K. and Germany dominate the European brand landscape. The U.K.'s Top 10 brands comprise a total value of EUR 137 billion, closely followed by Germany.

Gerhard Hrebicek, scientific director and executive director of the European Brand Institute Vienna, summarized three significant findings:

1. European brand management is sophisticated. More than two-thirds of the Top 50 brand corporations manage brand portfolios.
   
2. Great potential for the development of Eastern European brands. The Russian telecommunications brand Beeline and the Slovenian household appliances brand Gorenje can be held up as examples for other Eastern European countries.
3. 
   Brands create prosperity - the future of Europe depends on strong brands, which create growth, jobs and identities for national economies."

Finland and Switzerland have the highest Top 10 brand value/GDP ratios with 31.14% and 26.13%, respectively. The European average is 9.3%, while Russia (1.13%), Bulgaria (0.48%), and Romania (0.05%) trail behind.