SYDNEY: Google is Australia's most influential brand, followed by Microsoft and Facebook, although four domestic brands also feature in the country's top ten, a recent survey has revealed.

Research firm Ipsos Marketing Australia polled 1,000 adults about 100 well-known brands in Australia, explained Ipsos managing director Gillian O'Sullivan in a blog post for Marketing magazine.

And the same survey was conducted in nine other countries with a total global sample of 15,152, she said, with each survey covering five key elements to define brand influence.

In order of importance, these "dimensions of influence" were: leading edge (innovation), engagement, trust, corporate citizenship, and presence (consumers have to know what the brand stands for).

O'Sullivan said that what makes Google "unique" in the eyes of Australia consumers is that they feel it "has helped them to make smarter choices and changed what they do every day for the better".

Microsoft is regarded as the most innovative of the 100 brands surveyed while Facebook is seen as a trendsetter "that has forever changed the consumer landscape". 

Retail chain Woolworths is the highest ranked Australian brand at fourth, and is influential because it is well-recognised, not just for its physical presence but also for its support of local communities.

Almost one-third (30%) of Australians believe eBay, in fifth, "introduced me to something I never knew I needed" while the Coles supermarket chain, another Australian brand, came in sixth because it inspires a sense of national pride.

Technology giant Apple is ranked seventh because of its innovation and for enabling consumers to engage with one another. Australia Post, a brand with heritage, is in eighth place on the Ipsos list.

Finally, Visa, the financial services firm that Australians regard as "leading edge", is ranked ninth, and Telstra, the Australian telecoms operator, rounds out the top ten because of its familiarity and solid heritage.

Data sourced from Marketing; additional content by Warc