Canadians are apparently mad as hell at Tim Hortons. The brand is taking a beating according to recent reputation studies by Léger-National and Ipsos Canada. Commentators are claiming the brand is in trouble and has lost its connection with the Canadian public. Professor Sylvain Charlebois, in a recent Globe and Mail article, argues that Canadians have been keeping tab on how "RBI's ultimate commitment has been to its shareholders and not necessarily to the Canadian public". He adds that the dramatic drop in brand reputation confirms that the "transformation into a foreign company is now complete".
Corporate reputation, as measured by Léger, is a function of perceived financial success, CSR, honesty and transparency, quality of products and services and innovation. As one would expect, the key driver of reputation in the foodservice sector is the quality of products and services. A survey released this week by the Angus Reid Institute offers a closer look at what is going on with this driver and other key components of Tim Hortons' brand equity. It reveals that the iconic Canadian brand is, so far, healthiest in Québec.
Despite its reputational hit, Tim Hortons remains a cult brand with a strong following across Canada. Six-in-ten (62%) Canadians still regularly patronize its restaurants. Almost the same number of Quebeckers do so (57%).
The chain is viewed as an important part of Canadian culture. Seven-in-ten (70%) Canadians say that Tim Hortons plays a part when they think of Canadian culture. In Quebec, 68% says so, with a higher percentage saying it plays an "important" part.
Slightly more than one-in-two (54%) Canadians hold a favourable opinion of Tim Hortons compared to 59% in Québec where only 17% hold an unfavourable view compared to 25% nationally.
On all key measures of brand equity related to quality and service, the brand appears stronger in Québec. Compared to Canadians in the rest-of-Canada, Quebeckers are more likely to say the quality of the food and the coffee has improved or stayed the same. The same is true of their perception of the service and prices.
I don't have access to trended data on these brand metrics. There might also be troubling signs in Québec as well but having roughly 85% of the population believing the quality of your food and coffee has either improved or stayed the same should feel pretty good. There is, of course, always room for improvement. One-in-ten in Québec believe the quality of the food at Tim Hortons has worsened but the same percentage of Quebeckers believe the food quality at rival Starbucks has declined.
These regional differences can be attributed in part to the more limited media coverage of the protests we saw in English Canada over the treatment of workers after the minium wage was increased in Ontario and the very public dispute with franchisees. It could well be that it's only a matter of time before Quebeckers join the rest of Canada in believing that Tim Hortons is not the same as it was. But there are lessons to be learned from this regional difference. Lessons that could help RBI devise strategies to insulate the Tim Hortons brand in Québec.
When it entered the Quebec market, Tim Hortons was a "foreign company" from Ontario.
Back then, Dunkin Donut felt more local than Tim Hortons. The coffee and donut chain suffered greatly in Québec after Tim Hortons' arrival. It took a 13-year battle for former franchisees in Québec to win their case. The franchisees had sued the company for failing to live up to its obligation to promote the U.S. donut chain's brand in Québec as it faced growing competition from Tim Hortons. The ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada in March 2016 forced Dunkin' Brands Canada Ltd. to pay the 21 former operators of 32 locations in the province nearly $18 million, including interest and legal costs. Today, there are only three locations in Québec.
Tim Hortons did many things right to endear itself to Quebeckers. One of the earliest and most visible was its name change.
Tim Horton's became Tim Hortons. The company removed the apostrophe after signs using the apostrophe were interpreted by some to be breaking the language sign laws of the Province of Québec in 1993. The change demonstrated good corporate citizenship and was a smart business decision ensuring efficiencies by using a standard name across the chain.
Tim Hortons made significant efforts to localize its brand story for Québec.
Here's an example. Back in December 2010, Tim Hortons released its festive holiday mugs. There were two versions. The Québec mugs had the maple leaf replaced by a snowflake and the CN Tower was removed. Some will say this was unnecessary and even ridiculous. It nevertheless demonstrated Tim Hortons' concern for regional differences and its willingness to adapt its messaging accordingly.
Over the years, Tim Hortons invested in localized advertising, often going beyond the French adaptation of its English campaigns. Perhaps the most memorable example of homegrown Tim Hortons advertising in Québec was the "Minou et Pitou" campaign which focused on two characters, Minou and Pitou, using two well-known Québec actors, Patrick Labbé and Elyse Marquis, in the title roles. It's fair to say that they made the brand a household name.
A local brand experience where one feels at home.
Ten years ago, I spent two days working at a Tim Hortons restaurant in Mascouche, Québec as part of a project for the coffee chain. I got to experience first hand what it's like to work behind the counter and, more importantly, I got to observe and interview customers.
As I changed the coffee pot every twenty minutes for a fresh one, I saw proof of the chain's "Always Fresh" promise. I also witnessed how the chain was "Always Inviting". If there ever were moments of truth that made Tim Hortons a unique destination for these patrons, they were the result of the convivial atmosphere and the sense of community and place. Going to Tim Hortons, a place where people knew your name, brought these people closer to their community. What the homegrown advertising in Quebec captured was not made-up. It was experienced every day in small towns across the province. Breakfast with toasts and "cretons" (a forcemeat-style pork spread containing onions and spices) and the clever naming of products like the Timatin breakfast sandwich made Quebeckers feel even more at home.
The Tim Hortons brand might be losing share of heart in English Canada but, if it learns from its past in Québec and recommits to that market, Quebeckers will continue to reward it with their true patriot love.
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