THE Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA www.icacanada.ca) in partnership with Ipsos Reid (www.ipsos.ca) on Wednesday unveiled the Top 10 Most Influential Brands in Canada. With the results based on its fourth annual Most Influential Brands study, Steve Levy, Chief Operating Officer at Ipsos Reid in Canada announced the 2014 ranking, how this year’s brands achieved their status and discussed the dimensions, drivers, factors, and ‘special sauce’ that explains how and why brands are influential, and the lessons to learn for all brands, big or small.
Most Influential Brands in Canada 2014:
- Microsoft
- Apple
- YouTube
- Walmart
- Visa
- Tim Hortons
- Samsung (New to the Top 10 in 2014)
- President’s Choice
Levy also shared some of Canada’s brands that are ‘on fire’ – brands to watch that made some of the biggest gains in influence during 2014:
Netflix: 18 (2013: 36)
Twitter: 24 (2013: 40)
LG: 55 (2013: 71)
“What is a brand?” asked Levy. “Brands have influence and in many cases, that influence has changed our world. We’ve once again measured the various drivers of influence – which brand is the most trustworthy, has the most presence, or is most engaging. More importantly, we’re able to see some trends and changes brands exert over Canadians, which gives brands something we can measure: influence.”
The Most Influential Brands Study examines five key dimensions that define and determine the most influential brands in Canada, including corporate citizenship, engagement, leading edge, presence, and trustworthiness.
The majority of brands in the Top 10 remain decidedly within the tech, digital and social media sectors, followed by the retail and financial services sectors. The only new addition to this year’s Top 10 list is Samsung.
The study found notable differences in the way genders, generations and regions perceive brands. Men are more likely to rank tech and digital brands ahead of retail brands, whereas women are more likely than men to feel the influence from retail brands that deliver value and choice, such as Walmart, President’s Choice, and Amazon.
It should come as no surprise that Millennials score tech and social brands highest, with Google, YouTube, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft topping their list. The three top Brands on Fire –Twitter, Netflix, and LG – also rank highest with this connected and tech-savvy generation. On the other hand, Gen Xers and Boomers rate Microsoft as more influential than their younger counterparts.
Among iconic Canadian brands, Tim Hortons scores higher with Millennials, and in Ontario, compared with the rest of Canada. But overall, the Boomer generation is the most likely to feel the influence from their country’s homegrown brands – four of their Top Ten Most Influential Brands are Canadian.
In 2014, the Most Influential Brands study was also conducted in 10 languages in 20 countries worldwide comprising 56 per cent of the global GDP, including USA, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Peru, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands, Australia, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and New Zealand. In total, more than 33,000 people were surveyed. Results from all countries will be combined to determine the Most Influential Brands in the World.
