• by Karl Greenberg , May 23, 2013

Brand consultancy CoreBrand says awareness isn't everything. Awareness is up across the board for the top 100 corporations it looks at for its BrandPower Series, but what people think about them? Not so nice. The CoreBrand Favorability Report, the latest in the series, follows trends in the favorability attribute of top brands, and identifies opportunities for Tier 2 brands.

The firm says that overall market sentiment toward corporations is skeptical. CoreBrand looked at overall reputation, perception of management, and investment potential to develop the favorability index. The firm says overall reputation has the highest impact, followed by perception of management and investment potential. 

The downward trend in Favorability across the top 100 brands started to hit the skids in 2010. But, says the firm, a rebound has followed on the heels of the financial crisis --although it's not back to pre-recession levels. The firm says the drag on favorability is perception of management. "This finding tells us that companies need to focus on building the image of their leadership through frequent and transparent communication to build trust," says the firm. 

The companies enjoying a rebound are those ranked between 100 and 200 in CoreBrand's list. The firm says these are poised to overtake many of the Top 100. "If this trend continues, it is quite possible there will be a huge shakeup in the Top 100 BrandPower Rankings over the next few years," says the firm.