Coffee and controversy are not a good mix. After a year that saw a backlash against some franchisees’ responses to the minimum-wage increase in Ontario, and frayed relations between the company and those restaurant owners, Tim Hortons has seen a hit to its brand, according to research firm Ipsos Canada.
The firm’s annual survey measuring the “most influential brands” in Canada was released on Tuesday, and showed that Tim Hortons fell out of its top 10 brands for the first time in six years. Its 2017 ranking fell to 16th from ninth. While brand perception may have been affected, none of this has had an effect on the coffee chain’s sales, which have remained relatively stable.
Another brand that took a hit to its influence in a previous survey saw some recovery this year: Samsung returned to the 10th spot in the Ipsos list, regaining its 2015 ranking after falling to 16th place in 2016 amid a recall of phones that overheated and in some cases exploded.
“On occasion, we have seen a number of brands face extraordinary challenges,” Ipsos chief operating officer Steve Levy said. “… In most cases, brands do everything they can to recover and end up spending what seems like an obligatory 12 months in the penalty box before things return to normal.”
Ipsos surveyed 6,000 Canadians in January about their views of major brands, including those that spend the most on advertising in Canada as well as others that the researchers deem to be likely to be influential. The survey asks a number of questions designed to determine “drivers” of influence, such as its trustworthiness, regular presence in people’s lives and its appearance of being a good corporate citizen. Together, those drivers make up what Ipsos calls its “influence index,” measured on an average of 100; the number allocated to each brand shows how much more or less influential it is compared to that average.
2017’s top 10 brands by order of influence,
over time
2017
2016
2013
2014
2015
1
1
2
2
3
Microsoft
3
Apple
4
4
Apple
Amazon
5
Microsoft
Visa
5
6
YouTube
7
Walmart
YouTube
7
8
Visa
9
Netflix
Walmart
9
10
Samsung
Amazon
14
Samsung
20
Netflix
36
2017’s top 10 brands by order of influence, over time
2017
2016
2013
2014
2015
1
1
2
2
Apple
3
Microsoft
3
Amazon
4
Apple
4
Microsoft
5
Visa
5
YouTube
6
Walmart
7
YouTube
7
8
Visa
9
Netflix
Walmart
9
10
Samsung
Amazon
14
Samsung
20
Netflix
36
2017’s top 10 brands by order of influence, over time
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
1
1
2
2
3
Apple
Microsoft
3
Apple
4
4
Amazon
5
Microsoft
Visa
5
6
YouTube
YouTube
7
Walmart
7
8
Visa
Walmart
9
Netflix
9
10
Samsung
Amazon
14
Samsung
20
Netflix
36
2017’s top 10 brands, ranked by age group
Millennials
Boomers
Gen X
Overall
Gen Z
1
1
2
2
YouTube
Apple
3
3
Netflix
Amazon
4
4
Apple
Microsoft
5
5
YouTube
6
Walmart
7
7
Walmart
Visa
8
8
Microsoft
Netflix
9
10
Amazon
Samsung
10
14
Samsung
21
Visa
2017’s top 10 brands, ranked by age group
Boomers
Millennials
Overall
Gen X
Gen Z
1
1
2
YouTube
2
3
Netflix
Apple
3
4
Apple
Amazon
4
Microsoft
5
5
YouTube
6
7
Walmart
Walmart
7
Visa
8
8
Microsoft
Netflix
9
10
Amazon
Samsung
10
14
Samsung
21
Visa
2017’s top 10 brands, ranked by age group
Overall
Boomers
Gen X
Millennials
Gen Z
1
1
2
2
YouTube
Apple
3
3
Netflix
4
4
Amazon
Apple
5
5
Microsoft
YouTube
6
Walmart
7
7
Walmart
Visa
8
8
Microsoft
Netflix
9
Samsung
10
10
Amazon
14
Samsung
21
Visa
Susan Krashinsky Robertson