Canada’s Top Three Brands are Google, Microsoft and Facebook

The Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) partnered with Ipsos Reid to produce a study of ‘The Most Influential Brands’ in December 2014 with an online survey of 5,708 adult residents of Canada.  Gillian Graham, CEO, Institute of Communication Agencies said,  “The ICA is proud to have partnered with Ipsos Reid to unveil this significant brand study, which impacts everyone from the C-Suite to marketers, advertisers, agencies, communicators and consumers at large.  FFWD Ad Week continues to lead as the must-attend resource for compelling thought leadership and important information for the industry.”
Brand names can really influence our decision when deciding between purchasing Brand A or Brand B.  ‘The Most Influential Brands Study’ examines five key dimensions that define and determine the most influential brands in Canada: Corporate Citizenship, Engagement, Leading Edge, Presence, and Trustworthiness.  Steve Levy, Chief Operating Officer at Ipsos Reid in Canada explains, “What is a brand?  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 of Canada for 2014 are Google – Microsoft – Facebook – Apple – YouTube – Walmart – Visa – Tim Hortons – Samsung – and President’s Choice.  For the third year in a row, Google has topped the list at number one.  Microsoft and Facebook traded places this year and Apple has remained in fourth place.  Visa dropped from fifth position to seventh position as YouTube grabbed the fifth spot and Walmart grabbing sixth position – up from ninth place last year.  Tim Hortons slipped from sixth to the eighth spot and Samsung got into the top ten for the first time, falling in at ninth.

Mr. Levy also addressed three brands that are “on fire” – those that have made the most gain over the year.  The first is Netflix that jumped from the thirty-sixth spot in 2013 to number eighteen in 2014.  Twitter also jumped from number forty to the twenty-four spot in one year and LG moved from the seventy-first spot to the fifty-fifth spot.

How do these findings stack up against your own list?  Do you feel that brands influence your purchase decisions just for only particular items, such as electronics, or do they influence you on a daily basis, such as when you grocery shop…please hook up with us on our Google+ Page…as always, we would love to hear from you.