Thursday, April 05, 2018

List of Canada's most reputable companies holds a few surprises

After a couple of weeks away, I am letting myself in gently with a quick item (and it's NOT about Donald Trump, who I have to say just bores me to tears now). No, it's just a comment about a small graph in the business section of the Globe and Mail today. I can hear the yawns already.
It seems like the top 10 companies by reputation in Canada in 2018 are headed up by Google (OK, fair enough), closely followed by Shoppers Drug Mart and Canadian Tire. Then follows a trio of international tech giants (Sony, Samsung and Microsoft), and then, of all things, Dollarama, and a group of international food giants (Kelloggs, Campbell and Kraft).
Perhaps the list shouldn't surprise me. It just seemed so random, though, so humdrum. Tim Hortons, that great Canadian icon, is currently languishing (and this is the point of the article) back at No. 50.
Maybe even more surprising is a second graph showing the reputation rankings according to 18 to 25 year olds, which is, well, pretty much the same. Microsoft does better (yes, boring staid old Microsoft), Canadian Tire a bit worse, and, yes, Netflix and Amazon make an appearance in the top 10, as does Canada Post, believe it or not. And Dollarama does even better, up at No. 4 (what's that about?) So, no Apple, no Nike, no young trendy edgy companies I have never heard of.
It seems like a victory for the middle-of-the-road and the safe status quo, and possibly an indictment of Canadian youth. It suggests that we are more likely to hit Dollarama than Tim Hortons for a good time. And, crucially, I would have thought, it probably has nothing to do with the amount companies spent on advertising.

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