Delivering on CSR and environmental goals has helped RBC retain its spot as the country’s most valuable brand.

That’s according to the Canadian results within Kantar’s annual BrandZ ranking of the most valuable brands, where RBC topped the other Big Five banks, as well as the likes of Bell, Lululemon and Telus.

Kantar’s BrandZ methodology involves looking at a company’s financial value that can be attributed specifically by its brand, with a focus on the potential for future earnings. Its data is bolstered through in-market sales information and surveys with millions of global consumers on different brand equity factors.

RBC, which ranked 57th globally, has a brand value of $37.7 billion USD. It was followed by TD ($28.7 billion USD), Bell ($17 billion USD), Lululemon ($16 billion USD) and Telus ($10.4 billion USD).

Kantar notes that while banks don’t always fare well on equity metrics, the RBC’s Ideas Happen Here brand platform, outlining its efforts to be more sustainable, is already paying dividends from a CSR perspective. However, Kantar’s report didn’t note if recent activist efforts targeting RBC for its investment in the fossil fuel industry had any impact on its brand equity in this space.

The idea of sustainability, Kantar notes, is a “wild card,” and has grown 300% in importance over the past decade. Compared with 2020 levels, RBC has boosted performance not just in overall planet-friendly metrics, but also in offering good financial returns, charging fair prices and supply chain responsibility. The company’s digital first ambitions are also paying dividends.

Leading Canadian brands are winning on both salience and exposure metrics, indicating that their marketing efforts are effective. Consumers are not as skeptical about a company’s efforts to contribute to causes, the report notes.

Kantar insights reveal that the top 40 brands in the country experienced brand value growth of 49% since 2020, thriving in a disruptive milieu, a backdrop of lockdowns, price hikes and supply chain issues. In fact, 37 of the 40 Canadian brands in 2022’s ranking have experienced growth, which shows that Canadian brands have held strong, despite the aforementioned headwinds.

TD is in second, which Kantar noted is seeing success with its new direct investment app Easy Trade and its fintech team up with DailyPay, letting employees access real time earned pay. Its “TD Ready Challenge” also represents the institution’s efforts to combat climate change. Last year, the government selected the bank as one of two issuers of green bonds.

Bell’s success came, in part, from founding “Bell for Better” in 2021, a long-term ESG commitment spanning several pillars, including the popular “Bell Let’s Talk” program. It’s unclear whether or not Kantar’s research was done before or after the departure of news anchor Lisa LaFlamme, whose firing kicked off a broader discussion about sexism and ageism in media, as well as an independent review into the workplace culture at Bell’s media division.

Lululemon, in fourth, is positioned around holistic wellness and according to Kantar, thriving thanks to innovation and experimentation in fabrics, design and functional tech.

And fifth place Telus, is embracing next-gen tech like 5G, but also doing outreach to marginalized communities through its Indigenous Communities Fund, for example.

The banking category continues to dominate, as six brands account for 48% of the total value, up from 44% last year and more than double that of telcos (21%), reflecting a pandemic snapback. As Kantar puts it, “Canadian consumers like their banks.”

However, according to Kantar, the Food and Beverages category saw the highest brand value increase, with 290% increase in total category value. This year’s fastest-growing brand was Apparel brand, Aritizia, which grew by 102%.

The other Big Five banks – Scotiabank, BMO and CIBC – took the sixth through eighth spots. Rogers was ninth, though it’s unclear if Kantar’s research was done prior to its nation-wide service outage earlier this year, or what impact its public battle over control over the company had on its brand value. Tim Hortons was in tenth, the only brand in the top ten to see its value drop.

Newcomers to the list include Canada Dry at number 30, which recently underwent a brand overhaul. Shaw’s Freedom Mobile came in at 38, while Rogers’ Chatr was at 39.