Reputation Institute conducts an annual online survey of the general public in which they measure the corporate reputations of 600 of the world's largest companies in 27 countries. The topline results of this study are published annually in Forbes as a ranking of 'The World's Most Respected Companies'.
Research shows that people act based on their feelings. They are more likely to buy the products of companies they trust, to work for the organizations they respect, and to recommend companies they like. Reputation Institute has conducted qualitative research with consumers in the USA, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Australia, South Africa, and China. Results indicate that 'Corporate Reputation' can be represented by a standardized measure based on a simple set of questions asked of respondents familiar with a company. Answers are used to create an overall Global Pulse score on a 0-100 point scale. The Global Pulse is designed to measure the health of a company's overall reputation.
Global Pulse Score
Company
2008 Rank
2008
2007
Change
Google
1
85.23
New
N/A
Johnson & Johnson
2
83.48
78.80
4.68
Kraft Foods Inc.
3
82.79
81.07
1.72
General Mills
4
81.34
New
0.00
Walt Disney
5
81.22
78.37
2.85
United Parcel Service
6
81.05
80.06
1.00
3M
7
79.79
75.06
4.73
Xerox
8
78.44
New
N/A
Colgate-Palmolive
9
78.04
New
N/A
Texas Instruments
10
77.22
New
N/A
Eastman Kodak
11
77.13
New
N/A
General Electric
12
76.82
73.96
2.86
Sara Lee
13
76.48
New
N/A
FedEx
14
76.28
79.39
-3.11
Deere & Co
15
76.12
74.99
1.13
Goodyear
16
76.00
68.46
7.54
Apple
17
75.42
73.71
1.71
Hewlett-Packard
18
75.10
71.35
3.75
Intel
19
74.94
72.73
2.21
Publix Super Markets Inc.
20
74.91
74.01
0.90
Caterpillar
21
74.78
75.24
-0.46
Whirlpool
22
74.41
New
N/A
Boeing
23
74.37
71.64
2.74
Costco Wholesale
24
74.33
72.45
1.88
Dell
25
74.26
70.09
4.17
The Coca-Cola Company
26
74.24
77.00
-2.76
Marriott International
27
74.14
New
N/A
Berkshire Hathaway
28
73.58
73.59
0.00
Walgreen
29
73.01
68.77
4.24
Toys 'R' Us
30
72.86
New
N/A
Procter & Gamble
31
72.85
76.25
-3.39
PepsiCo
32
72.76
74.91
-2.15
Office Depot
33
72.59
New
N/A
Fidelity Investments
34
72.57
New
N/A
IBM
35
72.39
69.06
3.34
Best Buy
36
72.08
69.44
2.64
Staples
37
72.01
New
N/A
Lowe's Cos
38
71.76
70.85
0.90
Aflac
39
71.59
New
N/A
Home Depot
40
71.49
69.76
1.72
NIKE
41
71.47
New
N/A
CVS
42
71.14
69.37
1.77
Microsoft
43
70.52
72.95
-2.43
Anheuser-Busch Cos
44
70.05
New
N/A
Kroger
45
69.96
65.64
4.32
JC Penney
46
69.92
73.71
-3.79
Honeywell International
47
69.79
65.92
3.88
Kohl's
48
69.31
New
N/A
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
49
69.25
New
N/A
Motorola
50
69.20
66.66
2.54
Safeway
51
69.16
68.41
0.75
Express Scripts
52
69.13
New
N/A
Tyson Foods
53
69.04
66.79
2.25
Lockheed Martin
54
68.65
67.63
1.01
Cisco Systems
55
67.75
69.50
-1.75
Alcoa
56
67.58
66.61
0.97
Meijer
57
67.38
New
N/A
Target
58
67.38
69.61
-2.24
Union Pacific
59
67.30
New
N/A
Goldman Sachs Group
60
67.12
64.74
2.39
St. Paul Travelers Companies Inc.
61
67.11
60.77
6.34
CBS
62
67.06
New
N/A
State Farm Insurance Company
63
66.87
59.69
7.18
Northrop Grumman
64
66.34
66.51
-0.17
Hartford Finl Service
65
66.16
63.44
2.72
Rite Aid
66
65.92
New
N/A
Circuit City Stores
67
65.74
New
N/A
Southern Co
68
65.69
New
N/A
Merrill Lynch
69
65.64
65.59
0.06
Eli Lilly & Co
70
65.41
New
N/A
Morgan Stanley
71
65.31
65.15
0.15
MetLife
72
65.06
63.66
1.39
Raytheon
73
64.90
66.97
-2.07
Chubb
74
64.88
New
N/A
American Express
75
64.76
64.87
-0.11
Pulse scores are standardized on both the country and global level. All Global Pulse scores that differ by more than +/-0.5 are significantly different at the 95% confidence level. For more information on survey methodology go to: http://www.reputationinstitute.com/advisory-services/global-pulse
