Nike ranked second among American’s Most Reputable Companies by the Reputation Institute, a leading research and advisory firm focused solely on corporate reputations. The US RepTrak rankings measure the public’s perception of companies based on seven dimensions: innovation, leadership, governance, citizenship, workplace, performance, and products.
Nike achieved a score of 82.1. In 2017, Nike ranked 40 with a score of 79.4.
Among other active brands, Under Armour’s ranking improved to 26 from 51 in 2017 although its score dipped slightly to 77.6 from 78.96. Adidas landed at 55, improving from 78, although its score likewise dipped to 75.6 from 78.30.
Bass Pro Shops slid from 19 with a score of 80.60 in 2017 to 42 with a score of 76.2 in 2018. Hanesbrands, the parent of Champion, slid to 40 from 35 with its score declining to 76.3 from 79.68.
Among the new companies in the active space making the list were New Balance, 63 with a score of 75.0; and Dick’s Sporting Goods, 89 with a score of 73.1.
Those dropping of the list included L.L.Bean, Columbia Sportswear and :Foot Locker. In 2017, L.L. Bean ranked at 16 with a score of 80.83, Columbia Sportswear at 48 with a score of 79.08; and Foot Locker was 90 with a score of 76.78.
Based on more than 52,000 individual ratings of companies during the first quarter of 2018, the survey quantifies the emotional bond stakeholders have with more than 880 leading companies, and how these connections drive supportive behavior like the willingness to purchase a company’s products, recommend the brand, invest or even work for the company.
The top 10 companies in Reputation Institute’s 2018 US RepTrak 100 are:
- Campbell’s
- Nike
- Bose
- Barnes & Noble
- Kellogg’s
- Hershey’s
- Hallmark
- M. Smucker
- Canon
- Amazon
Trends among successful companies demonstrate that brand strength, increasingly founded on the delivery of a brand promise, yields higher reputation and greater support among stakeholders, according to Reputation Institute. The Top 10 companies – nine of which are U.S.-based – all embody traditional American values and the underlying characteristics of success, stability and growth. A more vocal CEO also benefits a company’s reputation–including key dimensions of citizenship and governance.
The survey findings indicate that many companies are experiencing significant challenges. Macrotrends impacting corporate reputations in the U.S. have resulted in significant disruptions this year, with companies’ rankings changing by an average of 27 spots, revealing a significant erosion of trust and confidence in corporations and making earning stakeholder support more difficult.
Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, chief reputation officer at Reputation Institute, said, “The underlying reputation disruption we are seeing in the U.S. is driven by a crisis of trust. In an era of tweet ranting, fake news, data privacy breaches and questioning of company ethics, the trust in big companies has eroded in the past year. Companies that are most trusted garner a stronger reputation.”
While governance and citizenship – especially on the merits of fairness, ethics, positive influence on society and importance of products/services – have increased as reputation drivers in 2018 (collectively contributing to 51.9 percent of reputation), the relative importance of overall company performance have declined, with fewer companies perceived as embodying a sense of sincerity and genuinely caring, the absence of authenticity is fueling doubt among stakeholders.
Among the findings:
- Only 25.5 percent of companies are deemed as sharing the same values and beliefs.
- Perceptions of “strong and appealing leader” has majorly declined and familiarity of all CEOs is only 9 percent. But a more vocal CEO role benefits a company’s reputation – including key dimensions of Citizenship and Governance.
- Only 33 percent of the general public feel that what is being communicated to them by companies is relevant.
“In a politically polarized environment increasingly centered around the credibility of information and authentic communication, Reputation Institute said companies are seeing that corporate reputation and politics do mix, and can significantly impact corporate reputation,” according to Reputation Institute.
Reputation Institute’s full report is here.
Photo courtesy Nike
