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Here’s a link to the 2007 Fortune 500 List.

As a brand marketer, looking over this list brought me to some jarring observations. Primarily, “Why are so many of the world’s top companies entirely or nearly-entirely brandless?”

Let’s skip over Wal Mart at number one for now to focus on more stunning examples, since thinking “Wal Mart” conjures the color blue, which is far better than most on this list (though stick in the back of your mind Wal Mart’s blueness and its standing on this list.

CONSUMER BACKLASH: PETROLEUM, GAS, OIL, AND ENERGY

Chevron Corporation:

Rank: 4

Logo:

Questions: Does the above branding “mean” anything to you? Do you get any sort of familiar feelings about Chevron as a company and their product from this branding?

Editorial:

Obviously big oil and energy companies can function just fine without any additional branding and marketing from rates and the market alone, but this begs one very important question: Is branding a bad thing for big oil? Is one of the United States’ most valued industries apt to receive a negative response from consumers if they show their faces more publicly and more colorfully in the marketplace?

My assumption is this:

Yes, the average American Joe would be more likely to have a negative response to a full-fledged Chevron marketing campaign than to other companies/products, but (perhaps out of faith alone) this factor might make the oil companies a perfect target for a new media face lift.

Substituted Brands:

Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips, Valero Energy.

LET’S SEPARATE THE MEN FROM THE BOYS: BANKS

Banks are the industry that proves any marketer’s pitch: The banks with the most successful branding are the banks that win on the market.

Quick! What color is Bank of America’s logo? Citibank? Chase? Wells Fargo?

Wait. Wells Fargo?

In 2007

Revenues (in millions of dollars): 47,979.0

Profits (in millions of dollars): 8,482.0

Credit Where Credit’s Due: They are ranked twice as high on the Fortune 500 List than the company who owns their logo.

Wells Fargo is the fourth bank on the Fortune 500 list, universes away from the third-ranked bank, Chase (whose 2007 revenues were just shy of 10 billion dollars), but only breadcrumbs and nickels above their closest rival, Wachovia.

What we have learned:

The top three U.S. banking institutions have stunning, powerful branding, logos, and messaging, and their position on the Fortune 500 list reflects this fact accordingly.

The U.S. banks who have ignored, confused, or nonexistent branding, logos, and messaging are being treated like babies on the market.

Conclusion: Banking is among the most important industries to target for any brand marketer, as the brand’s message and market execution lead to bigger successes and higher-stake wins.

This has been the first of several installments of my “Big and Brandless” Fortune 500 blog.

I’m curious to know any thoughts on the observations here, as well as other brands and industries you think should be targeted in the future.

Please feel free to leave all comments.