Strong Mix of American Business Icons Dominate Top Ten on Ipsos’ List of Most Influential Brands
Thursday, March 14, 2013
New York, NY – Apple is innovative, Walmart has presence, Facebook is engaging, but if you want to know what the most influential brand in the United States is, turn to Google. No, not to ask the question, but rather, it is Google itself that is the Most Influential Brand in the United States. This seemingly all-encompassing Internet entity has topped the list in the recently revealed findings of a new study conducted by Ipsos called The Most Influential Brands in the United States 2013.
In the study, Ipsos asked Americans from coast to coast to rate 100 leading brands on a wide variety of attributes. The data revealed a number of dimensions which define influence and determine the most influential brands in the lives of Americans. As unveiled by Ipsos, the five dimensions that drive a brand’s influence are: Engagement; Trustworthy; Leading Edge; Corporate Citizenship; and, Presence.
“To one extent or another, the most successful brands have some measure of all these dimensions, but gaining real and lasting influence takes time and effort,” says Jerry Forristal, Senior Vice President with Ipsos MarketQuest in New York. “Brands have to work hard to build their name and when it actually exercises influence over our daily lives and our daily decisions, you know that brand has done its work.”
As determined by Forristal and his team of researchers at Ipsos MarketQuest, the ten Most Influential Brands in the United States for 2013 are as follows:
Google
Amazon
Apple
Microsoft
Facebook
Visa
Walmart
Yahoo!
Procter & Gamble (P&G)
eBay
Technology, media and web-based brands dominate list, demonstrating the increasing influence these sectors have in the daily lives of Americans. The list further highlights the growing convergence of these sectors, as companies such as Microsoft, Google and Apple continue to blur the lines between media and technology, while eBay and Amazon have taken retail to the web.
“It shouldn’t come as any surprise that these types of companies claim seven of the top ten spots on our list,” says Forristal. “Our daily lives are infused with the integration of web, technology and media and these brands allow us to access, gather and share information with tremendous ease. That in turn helps to influence our daily decisions. And with the proliferation of smartphones, tablets and similar mobile devices, we’re able to take these brands and their influence almost everywhere we go.”
Google is Global
While these are the top indicators and top brands in the United States, Ipsos took the study further by studying and measuring which global brands influence the lives of people in countries all over the world. Using the same approach as the U.S. study, Ipsos surveyed consumers in eight other markets: Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, UK, France, Germany, and China. Including the U.S., these nine markets represent more than half of the world’s economy. And once again, Google took the top spot, ranking as the Most Influential Brand in the World.
The complete Ipsos top ten list of the Most Influential Brands in the World is as follows:
Google
Microsoft
Apple
Facebook
Visa
Coca-Cola
Samsung
YouTube
MasterCard
Procter & Gamble (P&G)
“Building a truly influential brand requires a significant time investment, and in the past fifteen years, Google has done something truly phenomenal – they’ve built a brand that exerts global influence,” concludes Forristal.
Methodology:
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos MarketQuest study conducted between October 25th and November 6th, 2012. This online survey of 3,010 adult residents of the U.S. was conducted via the Ipsos 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 U.S. population according to Census data. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-1.39 percentage points. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to, coverage error, and measurement error.
The same survey was conducted in eight other markets with the following sample sizes: Canada (n=5,014), UK (n=1,004), France (n=1,100), Germany (n=1,011), Brazil (n=1,001), Argentina (n=1,000), Mexico (n=1,010), and China (n=1,002), for a total Global sample size of n=15,152.
About Ipsos
Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. In October 2011 Ipsos completed the acquisition of Synovate. The combination forms the world’s third largest market research company.
With offices in 85 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.
Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.
Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of €1,789 billion (2.300 billion USD) in 2012.
