Most respected brands of 2014

Through analysing levels of familiarity and favourability CoreBrand, a brand strategy and communications firm, measured the most respected brands.

The Brand Respect report is the second of its kind. Brands with high familiarity and favourability are reportedly the most respected, while brands with high familiarity and low favourability are considered the least respected. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Hershey were rated the top three most respected brands, while Delta Airlines, H&R Block, and Big Lots were among the least.

Jim Gregory, CEO of CoreBrand, says, “High brand respect instils trust among consumers and key stakeholders, allowing a company to maintain a strong reputation that will positively impact its business. Meanwhile, the 10 least respected brands—or simply the brands with the largest discrepancies between familiarity and favourability – need to realign perceptions in order to enhance their image and build back respect.”

While Coca-Cola retained its number one position, both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo lost favourability, perhaps a sign of the public’s growing interest in healthy living. IBM, Apple and General Electric are all new additions to the list. IBM’s growing familiarity could be a sign of a returning respect for traditional companies in the wake of the economic crisis.

Delta Airlines position is indicative of most airline brands, well known, but not particularly well liked. While Denny’s and Family Dollar are ranked on the least respected list, they both show considerable advancement on their scores from last year.

The Brand Respect scores are derived from CoreBrand’s Corporate Branding Index (CBI), a database that correlates brand with financial performance. The index uses ‘BrandPower’ methodology to measure size (familiarity), and quality (favourability). The report surveys 10,000 business decision makers from the top 20% of US businesses. For the full report,see here.