Google ranked most reputable company in Ireland

Google has been ranked as the most reputable company in Ireland, according to a new study.

The list of the top five-ranked companies in Ireland’s RepTrak 2010 study is rounded out by Kellogg’s, BMW, Marks & Spencer’s and Nokia.

Unsurprisingly, Anglo Irish Bank dwells at the bottom of the list, finishing last out of the 115 organisations included in the survey.

John Player & Sons, UPC (Chorus NTL), NTR, and Bank of Ireland were also ranked in the bottom five.

The Ireland RepTrak 2010 study measures companies’ reputations based on consumer’s trust, esteem, admiration and good feelings about a company, while also gauging perceptions across seven rational dimensions of reputation.

The study revealed that of the 20 companies with the best reputations in Ireland, 12 were multinationals and eight were indigenous firms. The top five indigenous Irish firms are, in order, the Irish Times, An Post National Lottery, Easons & Sons, Smyths Toys and An Post.  

The strongest-performing industry overall was the computer industry, followed by the automotive industry, consumer goods, retail and food manufacturing.

Marks & Spencer Group, FBD and Nokia were the top-performing firms in retail, financial services and telecommunications industries respectively.

The worst-performing industries were, in order, tobacco, financial services, airlines and aerospace, and transport and logistics.

Reputation linked to bottom line
“At Google we know that our users are only one click away from moving to a competitor service,” said Niall O’Riordan, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Google. “Our corporate reputation is about putting our users first, meeting their expectations through the products and services we provide and is integral to everything we do as a company.”

“The results of the Ireland RepTrak 2010 study clearly show that strong reputations lead to lucrative bottom-line results. The high rankings of organisations like Google, Kellogg’s and BMW means they are more four times more likely to gain recommendations, get the benefit of the doubt in a crisis and be spoken about in a positive light than those ranked at the bottom of the list,” added Niamh Boyle, Managing Director, Corporate Reputations. “Clearly, a good reputation is not just a nice to have; it’s a strategic business imperative.”

Prof Damien McLoughlin, UCD Michael Smurfit School of Business, commented, “A good corporate reputation does not happen by chance. The leading companies on this ranking have invested much time and resources in ensuring that their reputations are strong and their commitment has been rewarded. Google and Smyths Toys are perfect examples of companies that use their corporate story to create deep connections with their stakeholders, essentially deploying who they are as a company to drive business results.”

Photo: Niall O’Riordan, head of Policy and Public Affairs, Google, and Niamh Boyle, managing director, Corporate Reputations

Photo by Jason Clarke