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Brand Spotlight: TD - The Most Valuable Banking Brand in Canada

Charles Scarlett-Smith
25 March 2020

TD has overtaken RBC as the most valuable banking brand in Canada, reclaiming the title previously held only twice – in 2010 and 2013.

As Canada’s Big Five have maintained a heavy saturation of the domestic market, TD has led the way among brands seeking growth further afield. Expansion down the Eastern seaboard of the US has brought the bank considerable success and played a major role in brand value growth. TD’s brand value in the US has increased at 27% CAGR, versus 6% for the remaining operations (Canada & Rest of World). The US market is now responsible for 42% of the overall TD brand value. 

TD Historic Brand Value
TD Historic Brand Value ($m) 1

Looking at the brand’s marketing efforts in its growing market, TD kicked off 2019 with a quippy, funny campaign, Unexpectedly Human – which unsurprisingly boosted brand strength in the US.​

Perceptions at home also remain strong; TD is seen as having the best customer service for personal banking in Canada. ​

TD Great Customer Service
This bank offers great customer service (% of those familiar with the brand who agree)

It’s a year of accolades for TD, in addition to becoming the most valuable Canadian brand, the brand has also taken the top spot as the strongest banking brand in North America. ​

TD Brand Value Trend by Area
TD Brand Value Trend by Area1

While there is still some catch-up to be played with the US giants, all this highlights the potential TD possesses to dominate the entire North American market, coast to coast, in the years to come.​

Interview with Theresa McLaughlin

Theresa McLaughlin,  Global Chief Marketing, Citizenship & Customer Experience Officer, TD
Theresa McLaughlin, Global Chief Marketing, Citizenship & Customer Experience Officer

Between January 2019 and January 2020, TD became Canada’s most valuable brand and was the fastest-growing Canadian banking brand. With COVID-19 we are witnessing unprecedented market changes, how is the TD brand positioned to tackle upcoming challenges?

Since unveiling the evolution of our brand promise from Comfort to Confidence in 2017, we've made tremendous progress as an organization to center it around everything we do. The fact is that 79% of Canadians aren't confident they will reach their financial goals – we knew we had the ability and an obligation to help change this. From there, our journey to evolve our brand was designed to remove barriers and help our customers navigate and thrive in an increasingly complex world.

Our purpose and brand promise have never been more important. In the wake of COVID-19, the impacts of this virus are real and far-reaching and have disrupted the lives of our families, friends, and communities in significant ways.

Throughout this time, our singular focus has been on protecting the well-being of our customers, colleagues, communities. We have shared important steps TD is taking, such as safeguarding the health of our colleagues who have stepped up to support customers at a time of urgent need. And we acted to help those facing financial challenges as a result of the pandemic. In times like these, our commitment has been clear – we're here to help throughout this challenging period.

Attaining the top spot is a huge accomplishment, the next challenge is to maintain it in this climate. What can we expect from TD in the coming months?

As our journey continues into 2020 and we begin to learn how to navigate a new reality, we will continue to build our purpose-driven brand through the ‘TD Ready Commitment’, our corporate citizenship strategy, that will differentiate us and guide decision making on our community focus and investments. And equally important, we will champion colleague development and help our team learn and grow in today's rapidly evolving workforce, so they can do their job effectively to deliver exceptional results.

Whether we are talking about "confidence" or "unexpectedly human," it all comes back to putting the customer at the core of everything we do. Being a purpose-driven brand is about more than just good marketing. It's about living up to your purpose every day. It's the difference between your brand simply existing, and truly being a living embodiment of what your company believes in and stands for at its core.

References

  1. Global Brand Equity Monitor, Brand Finance, Consumer Research | Brandirectory

About the Author

Charles Scarlett-Smith
Client Director
North America

Charles has been with Brand Finance since 2017 and now sits as the Client Director for Brand Finance North America.

Since joining Brand Finance, Charles established a communication base in North America where he has built media presence and generated revenue by growing the Brand Finance brand.  Charles acts as Brand Finance’s spokesperson for North America, with multiple appearances on TV, radio and in print.

Charles’ responsibilities have a global focus, as he works with the London team to further improve global marketing and communications strategies.

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