Amazon is the most reputable brand in America, according to the
13th annual Harris Poll Reputation Quotient.
The online retailer unseated Apple, which held the top spot in last year’s poll. Walt Disney Co., Google, and Johnson & Johnson round out the top five.
Among industries, technology was the most reputable, followed by travel and tourism, retail, consumer products, and telecom.
Although Amazon saw a boost, corporate America’s overall reputation dropped to 2008 levels—a situation Harris Interactive
called “relatively grim”—with fewer “great” companies.
Harris Interactive considers a brand “great” if it scores above 80 on its Reputation Quotient, which the company determines through interviews with 19,000 people.
The six “great” companies are Amazon, Apple, Disney, Google, J&J, and Coca-Cola. Last year, there were eight “great” companies; in 2011, there were 16.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs and AIG are the only two companies that scored below 50. Bank of America, which held this dubious distinction last year, climbed above 50. In fact, it was among the Reputation Quotient’s biggest movers, although it still remains among the 10 least reputable companies. Six of the 10 companies at the bottom of the list are from the financial services industry.
Best Buy and Honda saw the biggest drop in scores in the Reputation Quotient, although neither company fell to the bottom of the list.
In its scoring process, Harris Interactive interviews thousands of people to determine the most visible brands. Then the research firm asks people people to rate the nation’s 60 most visible companies in six categories: social responsibility, emotional appeal, financial performance, products and services, vision and leadership, and workplace environment.
Here are the 10 most reputable companies and their scores:
1. Amazon (82.62)
2. Apple (82.54)
3. Walt Disney (82.12)
4. Google (81.32)
5. Johnson & Johnson (80.95)
6. Coca-Cola (80.39)
7. Whole Foods Market (78.65)
8. Sony (78.29)
9. Procter & Gamble (77.98)
10. Costco (77.95)
Here are the companies at the bottom of the list:
51. Comcast (60.99)
52. Wells Fargo (60.47)
53. JPMorgan Chase (58.20)
54. BP (56.55)
55. Citigroup (55.90)
56. Bank of America (55.85)
57. American Airlines (53.85)
58. Halliburton (52.51)
59. Goldman Sachs (49.39)
60. AIG (48.57)
To see last year’s list of the most and least reputable companies,
click here.