THE WORLD`S 100 MOST REPUTABLE BRANDS: STORYTELLING IS THE KEY

THE WORLD`S 100 MOST REPUTABLE BRANDS: STORYTELLING IS THE KEY

A brand’s reputation is nothing more than the perception that consumers have of it: it is not connected to actual company practices, but has a significant impact on business performance. And this perception is inextricably linked to the brand’s ability to tell its story and communicate its positive values to a public that no longer trusts traditional advertising.

This, in short, is the message that emerged from the 2014 edition of the Reputation Institute's Global RepTrak 100, the study that the consultancy company produces every year to show the brands most favoured by global public opinion. With 55,000 interviews conducted in the world’s 15 main markets, it is based on consumers’ opinions of the major global brands in terms of four emotional indicators: trust, respect, admiration and a positive feeling.

According to the Global RepTrak 100, the companies that in 2014 enjoy the best reputation at global level are Walt Disney and Google, joint first ahead of BMW, which from the top spot in 2013 is now third, alongside Rolex. Sony, Canon, Apple, Daimler, Lego and Microsoft follow.

“The world’s most reputable brands are those that have been able to change their marketing strategies to focus on building trust rather than simply offering a product," explains Kasper Nielsen of Reputation Institute. With 75% of consumers – according to the report – not trusting what companies say in their advertising, the key to acquiring a good reputation is to use storytelling to convey emotional values. “Social media and hyper-critical consumers may be fatal to companies that lack a strategy that can tell the story from the company’s viewpoint” says Nielsen.

Let’s look at those at the top of the rankings: Google, for example, is seen as a company where everyone would like to work, because it has told the world that it gives its employees benefits such as an on-campus gym, laundry service, and the possibility of enjoying themselves in especially-created spaces. Leaving the product aside, it is therefore a company that is respected and admired by the public. Like Disney: a company that deals with children and positive emotions, it is seen as representing positive values and behaviour.

There are now six Italian brands in the global top 100 compared with four last year: Ferrero (21st), Giorgio Armani (24th), Pirelli (37), Barilla (55th), Lavazza (68th) and Benetton (86th). The new entries are Lavazza and Benetton; Barilla, which last year came in 34th place, has slipped 21 positions, and according to Forbes, the Reputation Institute’s partner in the study, this is due to the public statements made by Guido Barilla against gay families: in the large markets of the US, the UK, Australia and Brazil, this was a fairly damaging blow to the company’s reputation.

Travel industry brands to make the top 100 include Marriott (39th), Hilton (65th) and six airlines: Lufthansa (46th), Singapore Airlines (73rd), Scandinavian Airlines (78th), Qantas Airways (81st), British Airways (86th) and Air France-KLM (91st). It is interesting to note that some sectors are completely absent from the reputation rankings: banks and financial services, for example, but also large energy companies, which are however climbing the brand value league tables. Pharmaceutical companies are also almost completely unrepresented, despite being so close to the world of consumers: the only group included in the rankings is Abbott, in 84th place.

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