The ICA (www.icacanada.ca) and Ipsos Reid (www.ipsos.ca) are proud to announce the results of the second annual Most Influential Brands Study, which unveiled and ranked the most influential brands in Canada at the ICA’s fifth annual FFWD Advertising and Marketing Week. This year the expanded initiative also included, for the first time, The Most Influential Brand in the World. Based on the online survey, five times larger than last year with more than 5,000 Canadians, Google ranks as the most influential brand in Canada and additionally ranks as the most influential brand in the world.

According to the findings, Google is perceived as a leading edge brand which has changed forever the consumer landscape, a trustworthy brand with a strong future, and also records a high level of online consumer engagement. In the top ten, Google is followed by Microsoft (down from the #1 spot last year), Apple (+1), Facebook (+3), Walmart (no change), Visa (+2), YouTube (+2), Tim Hortons (+7), AirMiles (+2) and CBC (- 4). While they didn’t make it into the top ten, two brands garnered recognition as making the most gains in influence this year. Samsung jumped 29 spots from #47 to #18 and BMO jumped 50 spots from #94 to #44, both notable achievements.

The Measures of Influence

The Most Influential Brand Study also revealed five key dimensions that define and drive brand influence for the most influential brands in Canada and the world. Each plays a different role and depending on the brand, a driver for one brand may not be a driver for another. On the whole, an influential brand must be perceived to be trustworthy, engaging, leading edge, must possess great presence and demonstrate good corporate citizenship. The study proved that all the top ten brands have excelled at building influence and driving preference in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

The World’s Most Influential Brand

Unique to this year, the initiative featured the first foray beyond the Canadian market. Consumers were surveyed in eight other markets including the USA, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, UK, France, Germany, and China, using exactly the same approach as the Canadian study. In aggregate, these nine markets represent 53 per cent of global GDP, more than half of the world’s economy.

“Brands have meaning, personality, and attitude. And because people so often identify with, relate to, and define themselves by them, brands have influence,” said Steve Levy, president, Ipsos Reid East. “For a brand to succeed, it has to reach its audience, connect with them, and get them to buy into the brand’s promise. But for a brand to have real influence it needs to win on the crucial dimensions we identified — trustworthiness, engagement, leading edge, presence, and corporate citizenship. Google is this year’s leading example — not only in Canada but on the world stage.”

“The ICA is delighted to collaborate with Ipsos Reid to offer the Most Influential Brands study as critically important content during FFWD Advertising and Marketing Week 2013,” said Gillian Graham, CEO, ICA. “The study recognizes the vitality and significance of the communications industry in building dynamic and influential brands in this rapidly changing world, where consumers are spending increasing time with media and devices. The parallel international study indicates that Canadians are indeed unique as we are influenced by both domestic and international brands.”

“Digital platforms and channels have not only fueled consumer empowerment, but to a large degree democratized communications. The biggest spend does not equate to the biggest impact and influence,” said Andrew Bruce, Chair, FFWD Advertising and Marketing Week 2013 and CEO, Publicis. “Understanding more intimately how future forward brands are creating influence will provide a sneak peak at today’s power houses and tomorrow’s challengers.”

The Voice of Marketing Influencers

As part of the Most Influential Brands research process, Ipsos Reid conducted ten, videotaped interviews with the senior marketing executives of the most influential brands to discuss the factors driving each of the brands. The interviews focused on “the secret sauce” of the brand’s influence — what is driving the brand’s level of influence in Canada, the brand’s view of their customer, and the past and future of the brand. The interviews will be posted on the FFWD Advertising and Marketing 2013 website at www.advertisingweek.ca.

The study was conducted between October 25th and November 6th, 2012. The online survey of 5,014 adult residents of Canada was conducted using the Ipsos iSay Panel. The results are based on a sample where weighting was employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data. The precision of Ipsos online surveys is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the survey is considered accurate to within +/- 1.6 percentage points had all Canadian adults been surveyed. The same survey was conducted in eight other markets with the following sample sizes: US (n=3,010), UK (n=1,004), Germany (n=1,011), Brazil (n= 1,001), Argentina (n= 1,000), Mexico (n= 1,010), and China (n=1,002), for a total global sample size of n=15,152. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to, coverage error, and measurement error.