Even Most Admired Companies Take Hits From Public

A new corporate reputation study finds that the American public not only has ill feelings towards BP and companies in the financial and health insurance sectors, but even well-admired companies at the top of the reputation heap draw negative reactions.

The ReputationPlus study—from interactive research and technology company Vision Critical and its public affairs arm Angus Reid Public Opinion—quizzed 10,800 people about 54 companies (800 people per company) originally culled from the Fortune 200. The study probes not only positive traits, but negative ones that cover executive compensation, management’s short-term thinking, secrecy, greed and arrogance. The full rankings are below.

Despite reeling from controversy surrounding recalls of some if its best-selling products, Johnson & Johnson tops the list of most favorably perceived companies, in a top 10 dominated by CPG, computing and technology companies. These organizations all rated favorably on fundamentals like value, quality and trust, and being welcomed into a local community—all signs of well-managed companies and good corporate citizens, says John Gilfeather, head of John Gilfeather & Associates, which assisted Vision Critical with the study.

Managing to avoid the respondents’ most negative label of “idiots”—the public’s shorthand for arrogance, greed and secrecy, continues Gilfeather, ”these companies still attracted comment about executive compensation and putting their profits above what is good for the country.”

For all companies on average, 31% of the respondents feel these organizations “Have top executives who are more concerned about how much money they make than long-term health of company”; 30% feel they “Put profits ahead of what is good for the U.S.”; and 25% say “they are companies whose best days are behind them.”

“It is not news that almost half of Americans think that BP puts profits ahead of what is good for the United States,” says Gilfeather. “But it is news that 1 out of 5 Americans feel this way about widely admired companies like Kraft and Johnson & Johnson.”

In addition, on average, 29% used the word “greedy,” 28% “secretive,” 26% “arrogant” and 23% “idiots” to describe these companies. “In 40 years of studying corporate reputation, I have never seen this level of vitriol aimed at larger corporations.  It is not just an erosion of positives, but also a rise in distinct negatives,” says Gilfeather. “If companies do not start communicating—and communicating better—about why they should be respected, this trend will continue.”

And how should companies be communicating? “It is clear from our results that familiarity breeds favorability,” says Gilfeather. “Familiarity is built by telling credible and compelling stories about the corporation. Many corporations—rightfully—are targeting communications toward important stakeholders. But it is also important to speak to citizens as a whole. Grassroots support, as we see everyday, is critically important to build reputation.”

ReputationPlus Study (Fielded May 2010)
Top 10		11-20		21-30		31-40		41-50		51-54
Johnson & Johnson	1	Target	11	Boeing	21	Visa	31	United Healthcare	41	Citigroup	51
Kraft Foods	2	General Electric	12	Verizon	22	Sprint Nextel	32	Wells Fargo	42	Halliburton	52
Disney	3	Kodak	13	AT&T	23	Charles Schwab	33	Aetna	43	Goldman Sachs	53
Campbell's Soup Company	4	Coca Cola	14	GEICO	24	Novartis	34	Toyota	44	BP	54
Home Depot	5	Kimberly-Clark	15	Allstate	25	Merck	35	Cigna	45
Google	6	Pepsico (Pepsi)	16	Sanofi-Aventis	26	E*Trade	36	Chevron	46
Procter & Gamble	7	Ford	17	GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)	27	Time Warner	37	HSBC	47
Apple	8	IBM	18	Pfizer	28	American Express	38	Merrill Lynch	48
Nestlé	9	McDonald's	19	Travelers	29	MasterCard Worldwide	39	Bank of America	49
Microsoft	10	Wal-Mart	20	General Motors	30	Comcast	40	Exxon Mobil	50

NB Geico and Merrill Lynch are subsidiaries of larger corporations.