91% of top brands have apps, but how many of them are any good?

More than nine in ten of the world's top 100 brands have now released mobile apps, according to a new report from analytics company Distimo.

It finds that 91% of the companies listed in Interbrand's 2011 Best Global Brands chart have a presence in at least one of the major app stores, up from 51% when Distimo last checked 18 months ago.

The company says that each brand has 24 apps available on average, although this figure is skewed by large publishers like Disney (636 apps – this is across all the app stores) and Sony (285 apps). Strip them out, though, and the average is still 15.

The report also finds that 86% of the top brands have a presence on iPhone, while 66% have at least one iPad app. 59% are on Android, but a mere 26% are on BlackBerry, and just 9% on the Nokia Store. However, Distimo notes that this time last year, less than 20% of the top 100 brands had Android apps available, so Google's platform is picking up steam.

"This report reveals that the 2011 best global brands have realized over the past 18 months that app stores offer a viable channel to promote their brand, reach consumers, and for a subset of brands – sell content," explains the report.

Naturally, media companies are the keenest category of brands, with an average of 247 apps each, some distance ahead of computer software brands (36 apps per company) business services (31) and automotive brands (29). Distimo also finds that only 27% of the top 100 brands are trying to make money directly from the App Store from paid apps: the rest are focusing on free apps.

It's valuable data, even if much of it is unsurprising to anyone following the apps market over the period covered by the report. However, Distimo's focus is understandably on the number of apps, rather than the quality of the apps themselves or the strategies that brought them to the app stores.

With 2,343 branded apps available from companies on Interbrand's Top 100 list, there are plenty of high-quality, engaging examples. Media brands like Disney, MTV, the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal (to name but four) have won plaudits for their experimentation and effectiveness in apps.

Outside the top 100, though, there is still an argument to be made that too many branded apps are uninspiring, unengaging and fail the 'Why would anyone want to use this?' test.

The buzz around mobile means that there are plenty of creative people within agencies working on app ideas for their clients. Perhaps 2012 will be the year when a higher proportion of the resulting apps actually appeal to smartphone and tablet owners.