ICA and Ipsos Reid Announce Top 10 Most Influential Brands in Canada

Google Retains Top Spot for Third Year; Samsung Enters Top Ten, New Brands on Fire

TORONTO, Jan. 27, 2015 /CNW/ - The Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA www.icacanada.ca) in partnership with Ipsos Reid (www.ipsos.ca) today unveiled the Top 10 Most Influential Brands in Canada at day two of FFWD: Advertising & Marketing Week 2015 in Toronto. 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.

Mr. 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.

"What is a brand?" asked Mr. 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.

Study highlights
The majority of brands in the Top Ten 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 Ten 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.

"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," added Gillian Graham, CEO, Institute of Communication Agencies.  "FFWD Ad Week continues to lead as the must-attend resource for compelling thought leadership and important information for the industry."  

To download the Ipsos Reid Point of View, please visit http://www.ipsos.ca/en/products-tools/marketing/consumer-trends-product/the-most-influential-brands.aspx  

The Most Influential Brands study was conducted in December 2014. The online survey of 5,708 adult residents of Canada was conducted using the Ipsos Reid 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 Reid online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the results are considered accurate to within +/- 1.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Canada been polled. For more information please visit http://ipsos.ca/go/influentialbrands/

About Ipsos Reid in Canada
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of marketing and public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty, forecasting and modeling insights.  Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information.  To learn more, visit www.ipsos.ca.

About FFWD Advertising & Marketing Week
The Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) spearheads FFWD Advertising & Marketing Week along with its member agencies, other related associations, the media and other companies involved with the communications industry. This year's chair is Laurie Young of Ogilvy.  For more information visit www.advertisingweek.ca or @adweekcdn #FFWD2015.

About the ICA
The Institute of Communication Agencies represents Canada's communications and advertising agencies. It backs the importance, value and contribution that advertising makes to the business community. The ICA is considered to be the leading source of information, advice and training for the communication and advertising industries. For more information visit www.icacanada.ca or @icacanada.

SOURCE Institute of Communication Agencies

Image with caption: "FFWD Advertising and Marketing Week 2015 (CNW Group/Institute of Communication Agencies)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150127_C5431_PHOTO_EN_11479.jpg

Image with caption: "Ipsos Reid (CNW Group/Institute of Communication Agencies)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150127_C5431_PHOTO_EN_11480.jpg

Image with caption: "Top Ten Most Influential Brands in Canada: Gillian Graham, CEO, Institute of Communication Agencies; Jamie Michaels, head of brand strategy, Twitter Canada; Charlie Clark, senior director of control brand marketing; Loblaw; Karyn Percival-Berry, integrated marketing communications leader, Microsoft; Steve Levy, COO, Ipsos Reid; Andrea Van Leeuwen, head of marketing, Facebook; Sam Sebastian, managing director, Google Canada; Brenda Woods, VP marketing, Visa; Mark Childs, chief marketing officer, Samsung and Jennifer Holgate, VP of marketing communications, Walmart. Photo credit: ICA FFWD 2015. (CNW Group/Institute of Communication Agencies)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150127_C5431_PHOTO_EN_11564.jpg

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