According to a recently released study by global brand reputation consultancy Reputation Institute car manufacturer BMW is the most reputable company, followed by Sony and Walt Disney.
These findings are the result of the third annual Global Rep Trak 100 by the Reputation Institute which surveyed 100,000 consumers on their opinions of companies.
This year Google, which topped the charts in 2010 and 2011, fell to sixth place while Microsoft entered the top ten for the first time. Apple managed to maintain a high ranking, coming in at fifth place, despite the death of the company's iconic CEO Steve Jobs on October 5, 2011.
A poll on the reputation of companies in America conducted by Harris Poll RQ released in February 2012 placed Apple as the company with the best reputation in America, followed by Google, Coca-Cola, Amazon.com and Kraft Foods.
In terms of social media, BMW's official Facebook page has 10,168,690 ‘likes' while Sony's official page (US) has 3,179,320. Walt Disney does not have a universal Facebook page but Walt Disney World Florida has 10,601,168 Facebook admirers.
The top ten companies with the best global reputations according to the 2012 Global Rep Trak 100 are:
1. BMW
2. Sony
3. Walt Disney Company
4. Daimler
5. Apple
6. Google
7. Microsoft
8. Volkswagen
9. Canon
10. LEGO
