Every Liverpool FC supporter knows stands for YNWA ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and now the acronym has become a leading and very valuable global brand. Tony McDonough reports

You’ll Never Walk Alone has been the anthem of Liverpool Football Club since Gerry Marsden and the Pacemakers had a hit with the song in 1963.

Originally a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel, the song is now firmly associated with the Premier League giants. And its abbreviation, YNWA, has taken on a life of its own.

So much so that now it has been named among the top 100 newest brands on the planet.  Global data insight company Clarivate has published the research. It draws on data from more than 20m trademark applications worldwide.

Repeated use by Liverpool fans on social media sites such as Twitter has accelerated the awareness of YNWA. Liverpool FC, owned by US investment firm Fenway Sports Group, has been quick to capitalise on the four letters by trademarking the acronym. 

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The club has also trademarked other phrases such as ‘This is Anfield’. However, in 2019 it failed in its bid to trademark the word ‘Liverpool’ when used in a football context. This was due to the “geographical significance” of the city’s name.

COVID-19 vaccine makers feature prominently in the Top 100 New Brands 2022 list. They include BioNTech’s COMIRNATY. Six out of the 15 pharmaceutical brands on the list are COVID-19 vaccines.

Some notable brand owners have multiple Top 100 New Brands on the list: Apple owns six: APPLE AIRTAG, APP CLIP, APPLE FITNESS+, APPLE ONE, APPLE WATCH STUDIO and ICLOUD+.

French sports brand Decathlon has four: CORENGTH, KIMJALY, KUPIMA, and TAMAHOO. COVID vaccine manufacturers BioNTech and Novavax both have multiple entries on the list.

Clarivate too into account a number of factors when compiling the list. They include market footprint and the range of products and services covered by the brand, geographic and economic coverage and online presence.