Coca Cola placed at No.1 in Interbrand's List of the top 100 Global Brands in 2011

US beverage maker Coca Cola retained its top position in Interbrand's list of the top 100 global brands in 2011. Coca Cola was followed by another US based company, IBM.

Software company Microsoft was placed third. The company held on to the position it stood at in the previous year despite a three per cent drop in brand value.

The top ten spots were held by US based companies, including Google, GE, McDonald's and Intel at 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th palces, respectively. Disney and HP ended 9th and 10th, respectively, on the list.

The only change in the list of the top brands occured at the 8th position, which saw tech giant and makers of popular iPad and iPhone devices, Apple, replace German automobile manufacturer BMW.

The highest ranked company from outside US was Japanese Toyota, which stayed unchanged at number 11.

The companies were assessed by Interbrand on the basis of three key aspects- financial stregth, role of the brand in the purchase decision process and the strength of the brand, or the ability of the brand to secure the delivery of expected future earnings.