Coles, Telstra and Australia Post have made it to the top ten on Ipsos’ Most Influential Brands 2016 list, with technology giant Google topping the list for the third consecutive year.

Supermarket giant, Coles, jumped up on the influential brands list to be the highest ranked local at number five and Australia Post made it to the list at number eight despite its rapidly shrinking mail business. Telstra is at number six.

Big US tech companies continue to drive influence with Microsoft at number two, followed by Apple at number three and Facebook at number four.

According to Ipsos, the brands are ranked on the following factors engagement, trust and presence, among others.

“When it comes to which brand is most trustworthy, or is the most innovative, or is most engaging, the answer can be a very personal one,” said Gillian O’Sullivan, marketing managing director at Ipsos.

“We increasingly identify with, relate to and even define ourselves by them, which gives brands something we can measure – influence.” O’Sullivan said.

O’Sullivan said in studying the concept of influence, they have learned that it is difficult to achieve and the pathway to influence differs from brand to brand.

“This has indeed been one of the most interesting learnings from this study which can help marketers identify strategies to improve their brand’s influence,” she said.

According to O’Sullivan, this year shows a strong list of local brands high in the rankings, like Telstra, Coles, Australia Post and Bunnings.

“In a global market, locals continue to exert influence. Local brands can dominate in terms of strong corporate citizenship, service and grass roots support. This continues to be a key path to influence,” she added.

The Ipsos Most Influential Brands study was based on an online survey of 2,003 Australian adults using the Ipsos panel in November and December 2015.