Tim Hortons Takes Reputational Hit; Google Remains The Darling - Leger 2018 Corporate Reputation Study

TORONTO, April 5, 2018 /CNW/ - Google, Shoppers Drug Mart and Canadian Tire are the three most admired companies in Canada, while Tim Hortons plummeted from last year's results, according to NATIONAL Public Relations and Leger's 2018 Corporate Reputation Study.

This marks the 21^st edition of the Leger study that ranks corporate reputations. It is the third year that NATIONAL has partnered with Leger and the second year for The Globe and Mail's Report on Business as its media partner.

"It is clear that Canadians judge their most admired companies based on the ability to respond to a crisis and how they treat their employees and customer base," says Christian Bourque, Executive Vice-President and Partner at Leger.

For Google, it is the sixth straight year that it has earned the number one ranking in the study.

Rounding out the top 10 corporate reputations in Canada are: Sony, Samsung, Microsoft, Dollarama, Kellogg Canada Inc., Campbell Company of Canada and Kraft.

Tim Hortons, however, experienced a massive drop from its 2017 number four ranking to the 50^th position. The company received significant backlash with its reduction to employee benefits, resulting in protests and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne accusing the founders' children of bullying its employees.

Samsung, however, had the biggest increase, pulling itself up the rankings from 24^th place last year to fifth position overall.

Last year, the electronics company fell behind due to its smartphones overheating and some catching fire. Since then, Samsung has been able to restore its reputation among users.

"These companies are acutely aware of how serious today's reputational challenges can be," says Rick Murray, Managing Partner and Chief Digital Strategist at NATIONAL Public Relations. "Canadian brands everywhere must step up their reputation efforts and recognize that in order for them to build and maintain trust, they must do more than simply respond to the media."

For the first time this year, Leger looked at the powerful millennial cohort, adding their views to the mix.

Millennials ranked their top most admired companies slightly differently: Netflix, Canada Post and Amazon (ranked fifth, sixth and seventh in the Millennial top 10) were the differentiators, shedding light on the cohort's lust for on-demand video streaming and online shopping.

The 2018 reputation study is composed of 241 companies. Only companies with presence in all Canadian regions are part of the Canadian ranking.

Download the report: www.corporatereputationstudy.com

ABOUT LEGER:

Leger is the largest Canadian-owned polling, research, and strategic marketing firm with 600 employees in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary in Canada, and Philadelphia in the United States. Leger is part of the WIN network partners in more than 100 countries, making it not only the largest Canadian-owned company in its sector, but also an internationally recognized brand.

Leger provides its clients with unique expertise in market research and information technology, in addition to business consulting and strategies in the fields of customer satisfaction, positioning, brand management, communication efficiency, corporate reputation, social acceptability, crisis management and customer experience. For more information on Leger, please consult its web site, www.leger360.com.

ABOUT NATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS:

NATIONAL Public Relations is Canada's leading public relations firm, servicing clients across a wide range of sectors, with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Saint John, Halifax and St. John's. It is part of AVENIR GLOBAL.

The NATIONAL network also includes NATIONAL Equicom, the industry's foremost investor relations and financial services communications practice; healthcare specialist AXON Communications, with offices in New York, Toronto, London and Copenhagen; Madano, a UK strategic communications consultancy based in London; and SHIFT Communications, an integrated communications agency with offices in Boston, San Francisco, New York and Austin. For more information about NATIONAL, please visit our website at www.national.ca or you can follow us on Twitter.

SOURCE NATIONAL Public Relations

For further information: Amie Lauder, NATIONAL Public Relations, 416-586-1943, [e-mail]