Ipsos, a global brands and marketing research firm for the first time in its five years of study has published the list of Top ten most influential out of 100 brands in Nigeria.

According to Ipsos, the brands were selected based on marketing survey conducted on 1000 Nigerians to assess 100 brands on various marketing parameters such as influence, trustworthiness, leading edge and corporate citizenship.

The study was carried out on consumers in Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Enugu, Bauchi and Abuja. According to the study authors, MTN topped the list, followed by Milo in the second place, Close-Up came third; Coca-Cola, fourth; Peak Milk, fifth; Indomie, sixth; Etisalat, seventh; Bournvita, eight; Omo, nineth; Maltina, tenth.

Interestingly, five of the Top ten Nigerian brands were beverage brands.

However, Ipsos does note that each of the brands in the ranking is the only selected product in its market categories except for mobile phone networks, MTN and Etisalat which operate in the same category.

“Beyond our own measures, metrics, and surveys, there are a number of other factors very much related to brand influence. Influential brands invest, and this investment pays dividends. A number of the Most Influential Brands have healthy media spend levels. In other markets, Influential brands also show positive trends in share price. When comparing the growth of the DOW/ NASDAQ over the past several years with the stock of our Top Ten Most Influential Brands, it is clear that influential brands have more value and that this is consistently the case,” the survey stated.

“For the first time in the 5 year of this global study, we canvassed the country to ask 1000 Nigerians to assess 100 brands. We spoke to Nigerians in Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Enugu, Bauchi and Abuja, males and females, aged 18 – 65yrs. The selection criteria for a brand to make the list of 100 were based on media spend and also factors such as market share and penetration across Nigeria. What follows next is our Top Ten countdown overall influence index score and the top 3 influence drivers associated with each brand. We also include some of our own thoughts about why these brands performed so well in this year’s study,” says Steve Spicer, general manager Ipsos.

While stressing the heritage of the brands, the study authors note that all but two of the brands in the Top 10 were birthed on the other side of the 21st century adding that these brands have been around for so long and have made themselves “part of the family” that Nigerians often forget that they are actually foreign brands.

Ipsos also states that the top 10 brands spend considerably on advertising, which explains their placement on the ranking table.

“Nigeria’s top Influential brands are all heavy spenders in the advertising and sponsorship space. They are spending millions of Naira every year to continue to be visible to consumers. Continuous innovation and Visibility – Influential brands are still around and successful because they have not rested on their past triumphs but continue to look for ways to remain visible, and above all relevant,” he stated.