Google is Australia’s most influential brand among consumers for the second consecutive year, according to the Ipsos Most Influential Brands 2015 study.

Technology/digital brands dominated the top rankings of influential brands, with eBay coming in second place, followed by Microsoft and Facebook. The top Australian-owned most influential brand is Woolworths, which ranked fifth.

While Google topped the rankings for the second year, eBay has jumped three places this year to number two, now out-ranking Microsoft and Facebook for influence.

The Ipsos Most Influential Brands study seeks to measure the ‘influence’ of brands based five factors identified by Ipsos that drive influence: Engagement, Trustworthy, Leading Edge, Corporate Citizenship and Presence. It measured 100 brands in Australia and ranked each based on their level of influence.

The global Ipsos Most Influential Brands study has included brands from Australia for the second time this year, allowing for comparisons for the first time.

“To exert influence, a brand needs to impact or change the way people shop, think, act and behave. It needs to become a fundamental part of life, shape consumers’ desires and help consumers get through their day,” said Ipsos marketing managing director Gillian O’Sullivan.

“A brand must be seen to be really important in the world today and even impact the way people interact with one another and this year’s study shows just how quickly consumer attitudes towards brands can change. There were some significant moves up and down in brand influence rankings, and worst hit were the more established brands.

“Brand custodians can learn a lot by understanding the various ways that brands, across a wide array of industries, have been able to achieve influence. The means of achieving influence varies greatly demonstrating that there isn’t any ‘one size fits all’ solution.”

The Top 10 Most Influential Brands from 2014:

2014

1. Google

2. Microsoft

3. Facebook

4. Woolworths

5. eBay

6. Coles

7. Apple

8. Australia Post

9. Visa

10. Telstra

Biggest brand influence movers

Technology giant Samsung jumped seven places from 14th to 7th and is now hot on the heels of key competitor Apple in 6thposition. YouTube appeared in the top 10 list for the first time, moving up the rankings from 12th to 9th position. Seven out of the top 10 brands this year are leading technology and social media brands, demonstrating the ubiquity of these brands in consumers’ lives today.

Methodology: The Ipsos Most Influential Brands study was based on an online survey of 1,000 Australian adults using the Ipsos iView panel. Statistical weighting was employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the actual Australian population according to the Census data. The same survey was conducted in 20 other countries with a total of 33,000 respondents worldwide. Each respondent was randomly allocated 10 brands from a list of 100 to evaluate over a number of key metrics and statements.