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It was a sold out session at the TIFF Bell Lightbox as the audience eagerly awaited the results to be revealed of Ipsos Reid’s 2nd annual “Most Influential Brands” study as part of the ICA’s FFWD Marketing and Advertising Week. The study reveals the most influential brands in Canada with this year’s study having 5,000 Canadians participating in an online survey, 5 times larger than last year’s study. Steve Levy, President of Ipsos Reid, presented the most notable movers and shakers including Bank of Montreal jumping from 94th to 44th and also Samsung jumping from 47th to 18th. Levy then counted down and summarized each of the top 10 brands as follows:

1. CBC
2. Air Miles
3. Tim Horton’s
4. You Tube
5. Visa
6. Walmart
7. Facebook
8. Apple
9. Microsoft
10. Google

Google overtook Microsoft this year and it’s interesting to note that Tim Horton’s made the the biggest jump on the top 10 list climbing up 7 spots to claim the 8th spot this year.

A key idea that any business can take away is that to be effectively influential at any size, whether big or small, require strengths in one or more of the 5 key influential pillars. Other key ideas Steve Levy mentioned include:

• Ad spend alone won’t buy influence and that influence is earned.
• Repetition creates influence
• National pride plays a role
• Creating influence is not easy

How brand influence is measured
According to Ipsos-Reid, brand influence is measured by 5 key dimensions that define and drive brand influence: trustworthiness, engagement, leading edge, presence, and good corporate citizenship. The study showed that all 10 top ten brands have the highest marks in building influence and driving preference in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

World’s Most Influential Brand
Unique to this year the study went beyond the Canadian market with consumers surveyed in 8 other markets including US, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, UK, France, Germany and China to come up with another list of the “World’s Most Influential Brands”. This study also concluded that Google was at the top of this list as well.

“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. “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.”

About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada’s market intelligence leader, the country’s leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. 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. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

About the ICA
The Institute of Communication Agencies or the ICA (www.icacanada.ca) is the professional business association which represents Canada’s communication and advertising agencies. The ICA’s mission is to champion commercial creativity, amplify the industry’s economic impact, and to embrace and drive change. As such, the ICA promotes thought leadership, higher standards and best practices. It serves as the largest source of information, advice, education and training for Canada’s communication and advertising industry. ICA’s member agencies and subsidiaries account for over 75 per cent of all national advertising in Canada, with an economic impact worth more than $19 billion annually. More information about the ICA and its initiatives can be found at www.icacanada.ca or follow on Twitter @adweekcdn or @icacanada.