Google and Amazon are once again in the top two slots as Canada’s Most Influential Brands, according to the latest Ipsos Canada, Globe Media Group, Publicis and Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) survey.

The Most Influential Brands study analyzes more than 100 brands spanning 19 categories, informed by feedback from 6,700 Canadians. It evaluates key dimensions that contribute to influence, including trustworthiness, engagement, ability to be leading edge, corporate citizenship, and, new for this year, empathy and utility.

Empathy, especially as we emerge from a pandemic, is particularly important and concerns how brands take action to help consumers and communicate clearly and sincerely. Utility, meanwhile, is the value a brand provides, such as the provision of health and safety, meaningful, personalized products, or good value.

According to Ipsos, influential brands go beyond merely being well known, but outperform competitors, weather setbacks and cut through the clutter with Google emerging victorious.

Google, the report notes, continues to thrive, expanding its Canadian footprint, particularly in its downtown Toronto headquarters. The company also announced its commitment to up-skilling Indigenous communities and addressing the issue of representation in tech. Amazon was close behind, with its innovation efforts leading to a trustworthy and “leading edge” image.

Apple and YouTube swapped spots, with the former introducing new product lines, investing in content and its ad tracking update that gave users more control over their personal data. Netflix rounded out the top five, rising two spots thanks to the success of some of its original programming.

The top 10 Most Influential Brands in Canada in 2022:

1. Google (NC)

2. Amazon (NC)

3. Apple (+1)

4. YouTube (-1)

5. Netflix (+2)

6. Walmart (+4)

7. Microsoft (-1)

8. PC Optimum (+1)

9. Visa (-1)

10. Facebook (-5)

“The emergence of new consumer behaviour from the pandemic and the impact of major changes to the economy such as inflation and product supply has resulted in yet another year of marketers having to take great pause and re-valuate their strategy and investment,” says Brett McIntosh, president of Publicis Toronto.

The poll was conducted in October, however, which does mean the results don’t take into account more recent news stories that might impact how these brands are seen. These include massive layoffs in the tech industry’s biggest companies, as well as Netflix cracking down on password sharing.

The Influential Brands list also highlighted “gainers,” brands which show there is no one-size-fits-all to wielding influence. These include Spotify, which has made impressive moves, landing at #24 on the recent survey; TikTok, added to the list in 2019, but which has already come in at #29; and mass retailer Winners at #32 in the ranking, and steadily rising year over year for the past five years.