It's yet another indication that when facing bad news companies should best take the bullet (since it's seldom fatal) rather than try to dance around things. The latest
Delahaye Index, a quarterly assessment of how the news affects corporate reputation, showed some big moves in the second quarter from the first quarter rankings. The Walt Disney
Co., after getting hammered in the press the last few months about boardroom scuffles and shareholder upheaval, bounced back to the top of the list with positive news of strong
earnings and speculation about the sale of it's lagging retail stores. The Boeing Company -- which pushed out Chairman-CEO Phil Condit in December after a hiring scandal led to
the firing of its chief financial officer -- went from No. 6 in the second quarter from No. 17 in the first quarter following a sharp upturn in government spending. Microsoft
Corp., elevated by news of strong revenue growth, product development and financial management, got the top spot of owning the best reputation among the largest U.S. companies for
the second quarter of 2004.
Second quarter results also found that the financial services sector was the strongest among all sectors, with Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and
Wachovia claiming five of the top 20 spots. Wachovia led the industry, rising 33 spots from Q1 to Q2, 2004, mainly due to the buyout of SouthTrust Bank.
"Financial news leads everything else, and a company's stock price overrides everything else when it comes to coverage of corporate America," said K.C. Brown, senior VP at
Delahaye Medialink. "Corporations exist to create value, and if they do so they usually do well in the media."
Wal-Mart's position fell from the first quarter, what with the largest sex discrimination suit in U.S. history slapped against the retail king and backlash in several
communities to allow Wal-Mart to bypass local zoning laws. Despite these recent developments, however, Wal-Mart's overall score held strong when compared with most other
companies in the Index.
"The media covers topics of the day with some reflection, but it's mostly headlines so a company can go from having terrible news one day to having great news the next," Brown
added. It's important that PR execs "place their stories into context because every company is going to have good news and bad news. It's how you're able to minimize the bad stuff
and get the good news out there so you can establish a bedrock of good news." And unless the bad news deals with the core of the company "it's good to take the hit" and move on,
according to Brown.
The 2004 Delahaye Index includes analysis of different print and broadcast news items to measure the reputations of the Top 100 U.S. companies. Each company's score is based
on how many positive and negative reputation-driving attributes are found within each story. These attributes are classified into five dimensions: stakeholder relations,
financial management, products and services, organizational integrity and organizational strength.
|
Second Quarter 2004: Top Ten Companies
|
|
|---|---|
|
1
|
Microsoft Corporation |
|
2
|
Walt Disney Company |
|
3
|
Verizon Communications Inc. |
|
4
|
General Motors Corp. |
|
5
|
Intel Corp. |
|
6
|
The Boeing Company |
|
7
|
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. |
|
8
|
Ford Motor Company |
|
9
|
General Electric Company |
|
10
|
Wachovia Corp. |
|
First Quarter 2004: Top Ten Companies
|
|
|
1
|
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. |
|
2
|
Microsoft Corporation |
|
3
|
Verizon Communications Inc. |
|
4
|
Intel Corp. |
|
5
|
Comcast |
|
6
|
General Motors Corp. |
|
7
|
Citigroup |
|
8
|
Hewlett-Packard |
|
9
|
Goldman Sachs |
|
10
|
IBM |
| Source: Delahaye Index, 2004 | |