Some of Atlanta's biggest employers rank high on a new reputation survey
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Metro Atlanta companies — with one notable fizzy exception — are winning the battles for brand reputation against their competitors from around the country, according to the new Axios Harris Poll 100.
Why it matters: Everyone loves a fight for bragging rights.
Zoom in: Chick-fil-A had the highest Reputation Quotient score among Georgia-based companies in this year's ranking, according to the annual survey of consumer sentiment of the 100 "most visible" companies.
- Chick-fil-A ranked No. 21 and scored on par with Google and Microsoft for vision and growth. The company's closest contender in the fast-food division — Wendy's — landed at No. 70.
- However, Chick-fil-A fell 16 places compared to the previous year's survey — one of the biggest drops on the list.
Sandy Springs-based UPS trumped FedEx and Cobb's The Home Depot narrowly defeated Lowe's. Atlanta's Delta shared the top rating for airlines with Alaska Airlines.
Threat level: The Coca-Cola Company saw one of the biggest jumps in this year's poll. But it still trailed existential nemesis PepsiCo.
How it works: The survey, a result of a partnership between Axios and Harris Poll, gauges the reputation of the most visible brands in the U.S., based on 20 years of Harris Poll research, Axios' Katie Peralta Soloff writes.
- The survey is a multi-step process that first surveys the public on which visible brands have the best reputation, and which have the worst.
- Then those 100 "most visible" companies are ranked by a second group on seven key dimensions — trust, ethics, growth, products/service, citizenship, vision and culture.
- This year's rankings are based on a survey of more than 16,500 Americans.
Vibes: Metro Atlanta companies' prominent placement on the Harris Poll's radar makes sense. Thirty-one Fortune 1000 companies call the region home, according to the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
- The region's diverse talent pool, international air hub, business-friendly policies and relatively low risk of natural disasters make it a magnet for growth, says Jeff M. Humphreys of the University of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth.
The intrigue: Some of the most reputable companies in the country, such as Walmart, Macy's, McDonald's, Burger King, Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Costco, Kraft Heinz, Kohl's, Nike and Kroger registered a decline in their Reputation Quotient score, reports Axios' Nathan Bomey.
- "Industries where consumers see price hikes for everyday items have declining trust," Harris Poll reports.
Trust scores fell 3.8 percentage points for clothing companies, 3.2 points for quick-service restaurants, 2.9 points for big-box stores and 2.2 points for grocers.
Go deeper: See the methodology.