42 BCBusiness junE 2018
One t h i ng stood out for Mi ke
Rodenburgh, executive vice-president
for Western Canada with Ipsos. "The
stronger brands generally improved, and
the weaker brands declined," Vancouver-
based Rodenburgh says. "We're in a place
in the business environment today where
scale matters. And it's easier to improve
when you're larger, and therefore it
becomes harder for a smaller brand."
For that situation, thank a cluttered
consumer landscape that has left people
busier and more distracted than ever,
Rodenburgh notes. "If you're a larger
brand, you can a‚ord to continue to spend
money and break through that clutter," he
says. "If you're a smaller brand, it's propor-
tionately more diƒcult." Digital advertising
is often the only option for such brands,
Rodenburgh adds.
To arrive at its Brand Love scores, Ipsos
asks two main questions: How close do you
feel to this brand, and to what extent does
it serve your needs? Brands that did espe-
cially well this year included London Drugs
(No. 1 again) and BC Ferries (No. 12, up
six spots), which has the personable
Mark Collins, a marine engineer
by training, at the helm. "It always
helps when you have a charismatic
leader who understands the busi-
ness that they're leading," Roden-
burgh says. "They can create pro"le, or
hurt the pro"le if they're not good."
Another standout is restaurant chain
A&W, moving from No. 5 to No. 4. "They've
done it partly by resonating with millen-
nials," Rodenburgh says, adding that the
company's Brand Love score is highest
with the 18-to-34 age group. "They had a
very strong heritage with boomers that
they had to adapt to deal with millenni-
als, and so their marketing campaign and
their product strate™y turned that business
around demonstrably."
Among Crown corporations and
similar entities, BC Hydro drops from
No. 2 to No. 8, while TransLink (No.
24) gains 16 spots and
ICBC falls 21
places, to No. 36. Projected to lose
$1.3 billion this "scal year, insurer
ICBC has seen better days. "The Crown
corporations, even if they do good things for
the province or for the communities in which
they operate, their brand can be positively or
negatively impacted as a result of what hap-
pens in Victoria," Rodenburgh says.
The marijuana factor reveals a genera-
tional divide. "In most cases where we see
brands that resonate higher among high
50
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(complete list on page 45)
B.C.'s 20 Most Loved Brands
(n/c)
(+1)
(+3)
(+1)
(-1)
(+4)
(n/c) (-6)
(+3)
(-2)
(-2)
(+6) (+10)
(+5) (-4) (n/c)
(-3) (-4)
(+5) (+1)
brand love score
(change in rank from 2017)
B.C.'s
Most Loved
Brands
❤
