Tim Hortons: A case in Brand Reputation Missteps Sitting down and having a "Timmies" has become a national pastime, like watching a Calgary Flames hockey game on a Saturday night. Tim Hortons has been around for decades in Canada, and over that time the company has built a reputation as a classic Canadian brand. With more than 4000 locations across Canada, it's hard to go very far before seeing the recognizable colour scheme and font with the "Tim Hortons" logo imprinted across coffee cups and boxes of donuts. Tim Hortons is often seen as the example of Canadiana: cofounded by and named after a hockey player; sponsor of community events using the name of a popular product line, Timbits; inventor of the popular "Roll up the Rim to Win" sales promotion, employer of Canadian NHL star Sidney Crosby as a corporate spokesperson. And, if you ever visit a Tim Hortons location, you will find a cross-section of society and a real meeting place of Canadians from diverse backgrounds. But this love affair that Canadians have had with Tim Horton has hit the rocks over the last few years. Reason for concern started in 2017 when a ranking of top Canadian coffee had Tim Hortons in fourth place behind McDonald's, Second Cup and Starbucks. In early 2018, Tim Hortons franchises began to cut coffee breaks for its employees, blaming a rise in minimum wage. Politicians got involved in this unpopular and tone-deaf decision. Nathan Cullen, an NDP MP in federal parliament spoke out: "If all the companies that employ the customers of Tim Hortons did the same thing that Tim Hortons is doing, Tim Hortons would probably be out of business ... [this] seems like a cruel decision, quite vindictive on their part ... it doesn't seem very wholesome." Later that year Tim Hortons committed another blunder. In response to public pressure, Tim Hortons announced a new environmentally friendly lid. However, there were many complaints over how spill-prone the new lids were. Social media sites were displaying Tim Hortons customers' unhappiness with the new design. Even though the company had been able to avoid too much bad press over the years, it started to lose its grasp on its reputation as grew, thanks to some serious blunders and missteps. It was not surprising that Tim Hortons brand was going to take a hit. But no one expected such a steep decline. In the Reputation Institute's yearly ranking of Canada's most reputable brand, Tim Hortons fell from 13th place to 67 th. Leger, a Canadian market research firm, conducted a similar survey and reported in 2018 that "Timmies" had fallen from 4th to 50th in brand reputation. It has become clear that this decline in brand is more of a free fall. As a result, the Tim Hortons presented a $700 million revitalization plan focused on improving the stores, coffee and food, along with a plan to better engage the media as well. Tim Hortons' introducing their all-day breakfast menu across the country is an example of: product development diversification market penetration market development Tim Hortons has seen its brand reputation plummet due to a number of internal issues. It is clear that the value of the brand has been impacted negatively. This is measured by which of the following? Brand marking Brand loyalty Brand ranking Brand equity As a student who has taken Marketing Essentials and first year business studies, you are hired to help create a marketing audit for Tim Horton's corporate office. Which is not a characteristic included in a marketing audit? independent systematic periodic comparative Tim's environmentally friendly lid mentioned in the case study is an example of which product modification type? diversification functional style quality Tim Horton's created TimBits cereal to appeal to a younger market. This product's weakness was determined to be: that Tim Horton's didn't sell it at their stores that it was too far outside the current product offerings that it didn't mix well with coffee that the product packaging was boring Tim Hortons: A case in Brand Reputation Missteps Sitting down and having a "Timmies" has become a national pastime, like watching a Calgary Flames hockey game on a Saturday night. Tim Hortons has been around for decades in Canada, and over that time the company has built a reputation as a classic Canadian brand. With more than 4000 locations across Canada, it's hard to go very far before seeing the recognizable colour scheme and font with the "Tim Hortons" logo imprinted across coffee cups and boxes of donuts. Tim Hortons is often seen as the example of Canadiana: cofounded by and named after a hockey player; sponsor of community events using the name of a popular product line, Timbits; inventor of the popular "Roll up the Rim to Win" sales promotion, employer of Canadian NHL star Sidney Crosby as a corporate spokesperson. And, if you ever visit a Tim Hortons location, you will find a cross-section of society and a real meeting place of Canadians from diverse backgrounds. But this love affair that Canadians have had with Tim Horton has hit the rocks over the last few years. Reason for concern started in 2017 when a ranking of top Canadian coffee had Tim Hortons in fourth place behind McDonald's, Second Cup and Starbucks. In early 2018, Tim Hortons franchises began to cut coffee breaks for its employees, blaming a rise in minimum wage. Politicians got involved in this unpopular and tone-deaf decision. Nathan Cullen, an NDP MP in federal parliament spoke out: "If all the companies that employ the customers of Tim Hortons did the same thing that Tim Hortons is doing, Tim Hortons would probably be out of business ... [this] seems like a cruel decision, quite vindictive on their part ... it doesn't seem very wholesome." Later that year Tim Hortons committed another blunder. In response to public pressure, Tim Hortons announced a new environmentally friendly lid. However, there were many complaints over how spill-prone the new lids were. Social media sites were displaying Tim Hortons customers' unhappiness with the new design. Even though the company had been able to avoid too much bad press over the years, it started to lose its grasp on its reputation as grew, thanks to some serious blunders and missteps. It was not surprising that Tim Hortons brand was going to take a hit. But no one expected such a steep decline. In the Reputation Institute's yearly ranking of Canada's most reputable brand, Tim Hortons fell from 13th place to 67 th. Leger, a Canadian market research firm, conducted a similar survey and reported in 2018 that "Timmies" had fallen from 4th to 50th in brand reputation. It has become clear that this decline in brand is more of a free fall. As a result, the Tim Hortons presented a $700 million revitalization plan focused on improving the stores, coffee and food, along with a plan to better engage the media as well. Tim Hortons' introducing their all-day breakfast menu across the country is an example of: product development diversification market penetration market development Tim Hortons has seen its brand reputation plummet due to a number of internal issues. It is clear that the value of the brand has been impacted negatively. This is measured by which of the following? Brand marking Brand loyalty Brand ranking Brand equity As a student who has taken Marketing Essentials and first year business studies, you are hired to help create a marketing audit for Tim Horton's corporate office. Which is not a characteristic included in a marketing audit? independent systematic periodic comparative Tim's environmentally friendly lid mentioned in the case study is an example of which product modification type? diversification functional style quality Tim Horton's created TimBits cereal to appeal to a younger market. This product's weakness was determined to be: that Tim Horton's didn't sell it at their stores that it was too far outside the current product offerings that it didn't mix well with coffee that the product packaging was boring