Stadler Rail takes first place among the presence leaders. The eastern Swiss company impresses with top scores in almost all reputation dimensions - particularly in innovation, management and sustainability. It is followed by Holcim and ABB, which also have a strong presence in the media and receive positive feedback for their innovation and ESG activities.

With a reputation score of 99, the Bühler Group is the clear leader in the category of clock generators. The family-owned company from Uzwil achieved top marks in all six assessment dimensions: Products & Services, Innovation, Economic Performance, Management & Leadership, Workplace and ESG & Sustainability. Geberit, VAT, V-Zug and Hilti followed in second to fifth place.

Dormakaba takes the lead among the pioneers. The Zug-based company scores with its innovative strength and clear positioning in sustainable building technology. It is closely followed by Belimo, Temenos, SFS Group and Huber+Suhner.

Sensor manufacturer Sensirion secured first place in the group of hidden champions. The Stäfa-based company impressed with its high level of innovation and positive reporting on ESG and management issues. Schneider Electric, Garaventa, Mikron and Liebherr took the other places.

AI-supported analysis of over 65 companies

The study - the most comprehensive of its kind in Switzerland - examined the media reputation of 65 leading industrial and technology companies. The methodology is based on artificial intelligence: articles from all Swiss online and print media were analyzed according to thematic and tonal aspects. The reputation model differentiates between six dimensions that shape a company's reputation: Product and service quality, innovative ability, economic performance, leadership, employer attractiveness and sustainability.

The division into four presence groups - from omnipresent brands to specialized hidden champions - enables realistic benchmarking. This allows companies to compare themselves within their visibility level and optimize their communication strategy in a targeted manner.

Visibility alone is not enough

"Media visibility is the basis for perception, but the tone is crucial," explains Lukas Zihlmann, Managing Director of Swissreputation.group. "Positive reporting shapes a good reputation - and this is increasingly linked to innovation, sustainability and leadership.

Katrin Frei, Managing Director of Pressrelations Switzerland, also emphasizes the social relevance: "Many industrial companies are B2B-oriented. The media are often the only channel through which the public can get an idea of their services."

A clear trend

The 2025 ranking shows a clear trend: companies with a consistent communication strategy and a clear innovation agenda are gaining trust. Stadler Rail, Bühler, Dormakaba and Sensirion demonstrate how technological expertise and social responsibility can be combined to create a strong media profile - and thus become the most important currency for reputation.

The reputation study was based on all Swiss online and print media, in which articles from 70 industrial companies were examined using an AI analysis methodology. Almost 70,000 reputation-relevant statements were identified and evaluated over a period of twelve months. To calculate the strength of reputation in the individual areas, the number of articles, the tonality and the reach and importance of the media sources were taken into account.

Six dimensions form the good reputation

The reputation model on which the study is based distinguishes between six different factors - known as reputation dimensions - that shape a company's reputation: Products & Services, Innovation, Economic Performance, Management & Leadership, Workplace, ESG & Sustainability. The study determined how industrial companies perform in these areas in the media.

Sensible benchmarking through categorization

The media presence of the companies surveyed varies greatly. For this reason, four groups of companies were formed, each covering a specific presence spectrum:

• Presence leaders - omnipresent companies with high visibility
• Pacesetters - regularly in the media, often leaders in their industries
• Pioneers - reliably present, setting the tone
• Hidden champions - small presence, striving for the top

Each of these groups comprises 17 or 18 companies. This segmentation allows the companies in the individual groups to compare themselves with companies with a similar media presence. This makes benchmarking possible - either as a whole or at the level of a reputation dimension - in order to meaningfully classify the results achieved and take targeted measures.

Media reputation is highly relevant for industrial companies

"Most industrial companies are business-to-business enterprises with which the general public has little contact," says Katrin Frei, Managing Director of Pressrelations Switzerland. "The media are often the only source of information that the public uses to find out about the activities, successes and challenges of companies. What the online and print media report therefore has a decisive influence on the reputation of companies among the Swiss population."

For Lukas Zihlmann, Managing Director of Swissreputation.group, visibility is essential in order to stay ahead of the competition: "It's not just about working conditions and career opportunities. Employees prefer well-managed, successful, innovative and sustainable companies. Industrial companies in particular must therefore communicate convincingly in all these areas, especially via the media."

Because reputation is one of the most important intangible corporate assets, the topic is increasingly appearing on the agenda of board and management meetings. It is increasingly recognized that the trust of stakeholders forms the indispensable basis for sustainable business success.

In the digital age, in which companies and leaders are becoming increasingly visible, a good reputation is crucial. Analog communication also contributes to reputation on a daily basis. At the same time, a good reputation is becoming increasingly important for employers when recruiting talent.

Holistic approach with specific competencies

Jouni Epper, Katrin Frei, Sabrina Huber, Susanne Müller-Zantop, Barbara Tischhauser Bandli and Lukas Zihlmann have experience in various areas of reputation management. Together they have created the "Reputation Experts". The association offers tailor-made, modular reputation management programs with a holistic approach. The consulting focus is on strengthening the reputation of companies and leaders.

"Reputation management is a holistic discipline and requires very specific skills that can hardly be covered by a single consulting firm. That's why we set up Reputation Experts," explains founding member Lukas Zihlmann. The association offers various services such as reputation measurements, media and stakeholder analyses, strategic corporate communication, CEO positioning, corporate identity and design or brand management. "We already cover most of the disciplines required for comprehensive reputation management and will be expanding in a targeted manner, including with specialists in ESG and sustainability," adds Zihlmann.

Trust is based on long-term commitment. According to the 24th brand study "Trusted Brand 2024" by Reader's Digest, the winning brands from the previous year were able to maintain their position in the respective 15 product categories. In nine product groups, more than half, the order of the top three brands even remained unchanged - in the categories of sweets, hearing aid manufacturers, cough and cold remedies, muscle and joint complaints, natural remedies/homeopathy, optician/glasses brands, vegan/vegetarian products, insurance and vitamin products.

The top trio in terms of nominations

The strength of some of the winning brands is particularly clear. According to the study, Fielmann achieved the most mentions of all categories with 791 mentions (optician/glasses brands), followed by Ricola with 695 votes (sweets). In third place is Nivea (cosmetics) with 543 mentions.

Particularly striking: the bank Credit Suisse remains in seventh place in terms of trust in banks/financial service providers with 63 votes. After massive outflows of funds, the bank was taken over by its competitor UBS last year.

According to the study, the Swiss population has become more optimistic overall: A clear majority of 61% of respondents are confident that 2024 will be a good year for them personally. In 2023, the figure was 57%. "The fact that consumers are once again looking ahead with more confidence is a welcome development," explains Andreas Karl, Managing Director of Reader's Digest Germany, Austria and Switzerland. "Above all, however, our study shows how important it is for brands to invest in their customers' trust - with high-quality and sustainable offers."

Mixed feelings about AI

A mixed picture emerges from the first survey of Swiss people's attitudes towards artificial intelligence (AI). Almost a quarter, 22%, view brands that use AI more positively, primarily when it comes to individual product design or protection against hacking and misuse. However, significantly more than a third (39%) have a more negative perception of the brands in question. 40 percent of respondents stated that they are indifferent when it comes to trusting a brand that uses AI.

The 2024 frontrunners at a glance

• Banks/financial service providers: Raiffeisen Bank
• Candies: Ricola
• Household/kitchen appliances: Miele
• Hearing aid manufacturer: Amplifon
• Cough and cold remedy: NeoCitran
• Cosmetics: Nivea
• Health insurance companies: CSS
• Muscle and joint pain: Voltaren
• Natural remedies/homeopathy: Similasan
• Optician/glasses brands: Fielmann
• Swiss vacation regions/places: Ticino
• Pet supplies/pet food: Qualipet
• Vegan/vegetarian products: V-Love (Migros)
• Insurance: Mobiliar
• Vitamin products: Burgerstein

The independent brand study "Trusted Brand" is used by Reader's Digest has been conducted since 2001 and, according to its own information, is one of the largest and best-established consumer studies in Europe. In Switzerland, 2,300 consumers were surveyed. All questions about the brands were asked in an unsupported manner, i.e. without specifying names. In 15 product categories, participants spontaneously named the brand that they personally trust the most and would recommend to family or friends. A total of 1984 brand terms represent the strong competition for consumer favor.

This year, Twint leads the reputation ranking and, according to GfK Switzerland, is now one of the 50 most important companies in Switzerland due to its increased awareness among the Swiss population. "The company is seen as an absolute top company that offers better services than other companies in the sector and stands out positively from other companies. The under-30s in particular rate Twint extremely highly," says Dr. Anja Reimer from GfK Switzerland.

Second place in the ranking was taken by Zweifel, which improved by one place. Migros is in third place this year. According to Anja Reimer, although Swiss people continue to identify most strongly with the retailer, Migros scored less highly this year in terms of social and moral appreciation.

Ricola and SBB occupy the next places. The latter improved by five places and achieved the highest scores in terms of environmental sustainability.

Rivella, in sixth place, improved its ranking by three places, while Mobiliar (ranked seventh) moved up seven places. Coop, Lindt & Sprüngli and Geberit follow in 8th to 10th place.

Demographic differences in ranking

Men rate Zweifel slightly better than Twint and also rate Ricola slightly better than Migros. Women, on the other hand, rate Twint best, followed by Migros.

German-speaking Swiss rate Rivella, Mobiliar, Zweifel, Geberit, Ricola and SBB better than French-speaking Swiss, whereas Coop and Lindt & Sprüngli score better in French-speaking Switzerland.

Migros is in second place in French-speaking Switzerland, ahead of Zweifel, while Coop is in fourth place. For the French-speaking Swiss, the cantonal banks, Logitech and ABB are also among the top 10 - whereas Mobiliar, Geberit and Rivella are not among the ten best companies here.

NPO ranking: Rega in first place for the seventh time

Swiss Air-Rescue Rega topped the ranking of non-profit organizations for the seventh time in a row. "Rega enjoys a high level of popularity among the Swiss population. The Swiss identify with Rega and attest that it is successful and stands out positively from other organizations," comments Anja Reimer.

The Swiss Paraplegic Foundation is in second place in the ranking, followed by the Swiss Red Cross, which improved by three places. Spitex Switzerland, in fourth place, also improved by one place. It is followed by Médecins Sans Frontières, Fairtrade Max Havelaar and, in seventh place, TCS, which moved up seven places. The Cancer League remains in eighth place, followed by Bio Suisse and WWF Switzerland.

The GfK Business Reflector measures the reputation of the 50 leading Swiss companies and 20 best-known NPOs on the basis of a population-representative survey, compares them and thus provides an annual cross-sector seismograph of the Swiss corporate and non-profit landscape. Together with the Research Institute for the Public Sphere and Society (Fög) at the University of Zurich, a scientifically sound measurement tool was developed to provide Swiss marketers, CSR managers, companies and NPOs with a representative reputation index. The results are based on over 3,500 interviews conducted throughout Switzerland, which are collected from mid-January to mid-February. The aim of the study is to provide objective and precise reputation monitoring.

Insurance companies and health insurers are regularly present in the media and on social media. Topics and the way they are reported and commented on influence how these companies are perceived. In a comprehensive study, 13 insurance companies and 13 health insurance companies have now been analyzed with regard to their reputation in Swiss media sources. The results show how the companies perform in the areas of product & service, innovation, profitability, sustainability, management and employer.

Helvetia, Baloise and Swiss Re occupy the top positions in the insurance sector

Those who manage to be present in reputation-relevant topics and at the same time do so in a positive context strengthen their good reputation. Among insurers, Helvetia is clearly the best at this, as the study shows. The company is convincing in all areas, with some minor compromises in terms of employer.

Second-placed Baloise, on the other hand, is significantly less present in the Swiss media, but is able to compensate for this with very good tonality values. Swiss Re achieved third place thanks to its outstanding visibility. In the other places are Die Mobiliar, Zurich, Axa, Swiss Life, Vaudoise, Pax and Suva. Allianz, Generali and Emmental Versicherung did not make it into the top 10.

Overall, the study gives the insurance industry a good report card in terms of its media reputation. Almost all of the top 10 insurers have a sufficient presence in all six reputation dimensions, with only a few companies scoring below average. With over 44,000 articles analyzed, the industry has very good visibility in the media, even if the figures for the individual companies vary greatly.

Swica, Sanitas and Visana make up the podium of health insurers

When it comes to visibility in the media, health insurers cannot keep up with the insurance companies. With just over 12,000 articles evaluated, health insurers are far less present.

Swica achieved the best reputation among the health insurance companies. It combines media visibility with good tonality and thus achieves very good scores in practically all six reputation dimensions, according to the study. Second-placed Sanitas is only just behind with an equally almost flawless profile. Visana in third place scored very well in terms of profitability, sustainability and management.

KPT, Aquilana, Groupe Mutuel and Helsana in fourth to seventh place are close to each other with an overall reputation at a similar level. Atupri, ÖKK and CSS complete the top 10. Assura, Concordia and Sympany remained outside the top ten.

Sustainability issues have so far fallen by the wayside

As part of the study, the subject areas in which the evaluated companies are present in the media were examined in more detail. Driven by the SMI companies Swiss Life, Swiss Re and Zurich, 41% of all articles by the insurers are assigned to the topic of "profitability". "Product & service" topics account for 28 percent and topics relating to management almost 20 percent. Sustainability, innovation and employer topics together account for just under 12 percent of all statements.

In the case of health insurance companies, topics relating to product & service (42.5%) lead ahead of profitability (22%) and management (21%). Here too, only 14% remain for the other three reputation dimensions.

The study concludes from this that both sectors are rather poorly represented, particularly in terms of sustainability communication (share for insurance companies 7.8%, for health insurance companies 8.4%).

For the Study by the Swissreputation.group and the IMWF all reputation-relevant statements of the selected companies in publicly accessible Swiss news, articles, posts, comments from journalistic news media, discussion pages, social media such as Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, blogs and forums were evaluated in the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023. More than 56,000 media contributions were analyzed.

An AI-supported text analysis was used for this purpose. After pre-filtering all media contributions from the selected companies, the specially trained algorithm evaluates the statements semantically and assigns them to the thematic reputation categories.dimensions. To calculate the reputation values, the visibility (number of statements) and tonality are taken into account for each dimension. Finally, these results are statistically weighted and the overall ranking is calculated.

Werbewoche.ch: How important is a good reputation for companies today - and to what extent can it be achieved through targeted purpose marketing?

Diana Brasey: Your reputation - your value! A company that focuses on Purpose Marketing has a clear advantage over its competitors. Purpose marketing is a strategy that aims to live the values internally and communicate them externally, thus creating a strong foundation of trust and customer loyalty. This leads to customers preferring the company, even if it is more expensive than its market competitors. It shows that it is more than just a profitable business, that it cares about its customers, employees and society as a whole. And satisfied customers, employees and investors are the foundation of a successful business. Corporations know that it's not enough just to make a profit - you also have to do something good to be successful in the long term.

What role does social media play in terms of reputation, and is it more of an opportunity or a risk?

Social media can pose a very big reputational risk for companies. Shitstorms are very popular. Using social media, massive reputational damage can occur in a matter of seconds. The losses can be downright devastating. However, social media is also an opportunity, for example in talent recruitment. However, it is very important to actively manage your reputation. And to maintain a good reputation. This includes active monitoring on all channels and corresponding communication with all players.

Why is actively managing reputation so important - and what mistakes do companies make in the process?

In today's world, you can't afford not to actively manage your reputation. Let's take the example of the asset manager. Would he rely 90 percent on good luck when making an investment for his clients? No. That's where research comes in. In the same way, stakeholder groups read reviews, find out about a service or product on the Internet before they buy or purchase it. Everything is available and viewable online today.

And yes, you will not believe it, but just barely one of three CEOs has understood that. That means that two thirds leave their reputation to chance!

How can the concept of reputation influence the market value of a company?

If corporations understand that the concept of reputation - intangibles - account for 90 percent of a company's market value, then it is negligent not to take advantage of this important asset. What a missed opportunity - an opportunity over competitors! Because a good reputation enables

- higher intangible assets
- higher return on investment
- lower gearing
- higher growth rates
- better chances in the fight for talent
- much higher emotional value than the pure book value - the brand with a good reputation!

Why is a (good) self-assessment so important today - and how can you use it to stand out from the competition?

With a self-assessment, you gain the trust of all stakeholders. Trust as well as credibility are the basic building blocks for a good reputation. Disruptive companies already rely on it voluntarily. Because if you remain silent about this asset any longer, you call part of your management qualities into question.

I say: Take care of your reputation before others do. And the first thing to do is to assess yourself correctly. Because then we experts can show you the great "untapped" potential. And this is a recurring thought exercise to strive for a holistic corporate reputation.

Why is a reputation report an important tool for all companies?

On the one hand, the core of the reputation report provides perspective information on the state, possibilities and potential of the overall reputation in the future. At the same time, the reputation report explains in detail, in 16 different chapters, how the characteristics have come about and how they are justified. With this voluntary report, reputation is not only actively used as an intangible value, but also simultaneously managed and regularly presented. This gives all stakeholder groups a 360-degree overview as a basis for individual decision-making processes.

Officially, a kind of status report on reputation is not yet mandatory as part of financial reporting. This is a pity and is probably due to the fact that the term reputation is generally rather obscure. The same thing happened to the term sustainability years ago. It took what felt like forever for organizations to agree to publish some kind of voluntary sustainability report beyond financial reporting. Today, for marketing and communication reasons alone, it would be simply unthinkable for many companies to do without it.

If you now think two steps further, it is better to use the term reputation reporting today as a voluntary instrument to exemplify trust through transparency.

Being an attractive employer has always been important for attracting and retaining the best employees. But with the shortage of skilled workers in many industries, this issue has become even more important. If you work in an industry that is struggling with staffing problems or is generally struggling to recruit sought-after specialists, employer branding is particularly important.

Meanwhile, there are some providers that shed light on the issue with ratings or awards / labels by (former) employees. Providers such as Kununu or Great Place to Work give (former) employees a voice. But what does the general public actually think about various employers?

Employers are always brands as well. Sometimes they appear under the same name both as an employer and on the sales market as a corporate brand, such as Swiss Life or Freitag. Other suppliers have a more complex brand organization and are active on the market with family brands, for example Beiersdorf with Nivea or Eucerin, or subbrands - the Rivella Group with Rivella, Focuswater or Enertea by Rivella can be mentioned here.

Google No. 1 out of 120 brands

No matter what the brand strategy: One of the best awards is the most positive possible perception of a brand among the population. If a poor employer brand is added to any shortage of skilled workers, it becomes even more difficult to find qualified employees in the marketplace. A brand may be perceived as good or even excellent by its current or previous employees, but this does not necessarily mean that this image also (strongly) exists in the population.

For more than three years, YouGov's continuous brand tracking, the BrandIndex, has been measuring - among many other key figures - the (employer) reputation of 120 brands among the Swiss population. YouGov has been the parent company of the market research company Link since the end of 2021 and monitors thousands of brands worldwide with its BrandIndex. In Switzerland, more than 10,000 online interviews are collected per year and brand as a result, which include answers to the question of whether respondents would be proud to work for a particular brand or whether it would make them uncomfortable.

Around 30 brands from the 4 sectors of automobiles, banks/financial service providers, insurance/health insurance companies and online brands are currently being monitored. In both the full calendar year 2022 and the first two-thirds of 2023 (up to the end of August), Google is ranked first, followed by Mercedes-Benz, Raiffeisen, Audi and Mobiliar. Four automotive brands are represented in the top 7 with Porsche (rank 6) and BMW (rank 7).

In the case of Google, the younger the respondents, the higher the initial net score. To obtain this net score, those people who would be proud to work for this brand (positive) are offset against those who would be uncomfortable (negative) (positive - negative = net score). Recently, however, the ratings by the different age groups have converged. The very young (18- to 24-year-olds) give Google a significantly lower reputation in 2023, which is still ongoing, than they did at the beginning of 2022 and would accordingly no longer be quite so proud to work for the online giant. In this case, the poorer rating results from a decreasing proportion of positive ratings, with the negative proportion remaining consistently low at around 6 %.

Overall, other tech brands such as Instagram or Facebook also showed a decline among the young as of the end of 2022. However, the starting level of the latter two brands was already lower, which is why they were able to lose correspondingly less. Facebook remains the least popular social media brand for the under-25s (rank 120).

A look at other industries shows: While Mercedes Benz managed to hold on to second place out of 120 in both the calendar year 2022 and the first eight months of 2023, Raiffeisen Bank moved up three places in the same period and is now in third place. 18- to 24-year-olds express the most pride when it comes to working for the bank. The financial services provider that scores second best is Twint. In May reported m&k advertisingweek.ch already benefited from its excellent reputation. in the Swiss population. This is also reflected in its reputation as an employer. In the two-thirds annual ranking, the mobile payment provider is in eighth place, a position it already held in 2022. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, Twint is now in first place (rank 4 in 2022).

No surprises at the lower end of the scale

At the other end of the scale is Credit Suisse, which was recently completely taken over by UBS. The score of -28 for January to August 2023 is massively lower than in 2022 (-11). In the previous year, the outgoing big bank was still ranked 27th. UBS has also lost ground and is 24 places lower in the 2023 temporary ranking (January to August) than in 2022 (new ranking 101 with -0.4).

To classify these numbers: A score of 0 means that there are the same number of people who say they are proud as there are people who would be uncomfortable working at this brand. A score of -100 would mean that all respondents would be uncomfortable working at the former big bank, a score of +100 that all would be proud.

The situation at Uber is not rosy either: With its two brands Uber and Uber Eats, the service provider is represented twice in the Bottom 5, i.e. among the five brands that score worst in terms of employer reputation. With Twitter (new "X"), Facebook and Snapchat, three social media brands are also in the bottom ranks. And while Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche and BMW are very well received, Dacia and Fiat are the two automotive brands respondents would be most uncomfortable working for.

Elon Musk and his brands: not crowd pleasers

A lot has happened at X, the former Twitter, in recent months: the takeover by Elon Musk, the dismissal of a large part of the workforce and thus thousands of people, various changes to the platform itself, including the introduction of the Twitter Blue subscription, and more. Twitter was accordingly hardly mentioned positively in the media. Besides Credit Suisse and Uber Eats, the social media platform is the only one of 120 brands to have a double-digit negative net score in (employer) reputation in the first eight months of 2023.

Musk's oldest "child" Tesla, on the other hand, experienced the biggest crash. In 2022, Tesla was increasingly in the headlines in a negative light, with thousands of electric cars having to be recalled several times due to hardware or software errors. While Tesla was still in 32nd place in the entire calendar year 2022 and clearly in positive reputation territory with just under 9 points, the brand has since fallen by more than 60 ranks and is now in 95th place with a net score of practically zero after the first two-thirds of 2023. At least the downward slide reached its temporary low point in February, and the reputation has since stabilized (so far) around +/-0.

Method profile

• Population: Swiss resident population aged 18 to 79 years
• Time series analysis: per month approx. n=850
• Rankings: per year approx. n=10'400 interviews per brand, per 8 months (2023) pro rata
• Confidence interval for total sample: max. +/- 1% (at 1 year).
• Research method: online interviews
• Quotation / weighting: interlocked by age, gender and region
• Panel: YouGov Online Panel
• Survey period: 01.01.2022 to 31.08.2023
• Contact: Link Zurich, Matthias Biedermann (Research Consultant)

Product & service, innovation, profitability, sustainability, management and employer: these factors shape the good reputation of companies. And this good reputation ensures new and loyal customers, attracts the best talents, increases social acceptance and brings support from all stakeholders.

Media-mediated information and communication play a key role in shaping opinions. For the benchmark study "Reputation of Management Consultancies and Auditing Firms in Switzerland 2023", all reputation-relevant mentions of the selected companies from Swiss media, social media and other online sources were evaluated with the aid of AI over a period of 12 months.

BCG at the top of management consultancies

The top 5 ranking of management consultancies shows The Boston Consulting Group at the top. The company is particularly convincing in the areas of product & service, profitability, management and as an employer, and also scores well in terms of sustainability.

Second-placed Accenture is the only company in the top group to be present in all reputation dimensions, albeit with cutbacks in the areas of management and employer. AlixPartners, Bain & Company and Egon Zehnder follow in the other ranks. These three consulting firms already have several gaps in their reputation profiles and are not present in all topics that are important for reputation.

The detailed results show that the reputation scores of the top 5 companies are relatively close overall, but their strengths and weaknesses are quite different.

Other management consultancies evaluated in the study include Helbling, McKinsey, Oliver Wyman, Roland Berger, Simon-Kucher and Zühlke.

PwC with clear top position in auditor ranking

The ranking of auditing firms shows PwC in first place. The company shows a balanced reputation profile with only one weakness in the area of management.

PwC is followed by Deloitte - which also has a strong profile - and then by Mazars, which is not quite as prominent, and the two industry giants KPMG and EY. The "Big Four" are thus fully represented in the top 5. The gaps in reputation performance within the top five companies are significantly larger than among the management consultants.

Other auditors evaluated in the study include Balmer-Etienne, BDO, Grant Thornton and OBT.

Big Four dominate media presence

Visibility is an essential prerequisite for a strong media-based reputation. The Big Four - Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC - have by a huge margin the greatest presence in the media and together account for over 90% of all contributions by the auditing firms surveyed. Among the management consultants, Accenture and McKinsey stand out in this respect, being responsible for more than half of the media contributions of the consulting firms. BCG, Bain and the other consultants are clearly behind them in terms of visibility.

Studies as the main pillar of media relations - and reputation

According to the Swissreputation.group, studies and research results are the most important part of media relations, especially for the large consulting and auditing firms. The content reflects the major topics of the economy and society and ranges from market topics such as e-mobility, banks, food, retail, luxury goods or real estate to factual topics such as digitalization, sustainability, climate change, artificial intelligence, shortage of skilled workers, energy costs or cybercrime to economic topics on the economy, inflation, taxes or healthcare.

Expressed in figures, the analyses showed that more than 55 percent of all media reports on the consulting companies had study results as their content, or that a study was quoted. For the auditors, this figure was over 65 percent, with individual companies even achieving a share approaching 75 percent.

Reputation important in employer branding

Highly qualified employees are the most important resource, both for consulting firms and for auditors. A positive media perception is therefore an important factor in the competition for the best talent. Most of the companies analyzed do a good job of this and succeed in placing the employer brand successfully in the media.

The reputation factor "management", in which some of the top 5 perform below average, gets in their way. In many cases, this relates to incidents at foreign subsidiaries, which also resonated in the Swiss media.

For example, the Wirecard scandal (EY Germany), suspicion of involvement in Cum-Ex transactions and house searches (KPMG Germany), disclosure of confidential documents (PwC Australia), search of offices in Shanghai by Chinese authorities (Bain China) or a rabble-rousing, drunken Deloitte manager (UK).

These cases shake confidence in corporate leadership and pose significant reputational risks.

Reputation measurement using AI

For the current benchmark study, an AI-supported text analysis was used. This specially trained algorithm evaluates - after pre-filtering all media contributions of the selected companies - the statements semantically and assigns them to the thematic reputation dimensions. Furthermore, the tonality of the statements (positive/neutral/negative) is evaluated. To calculate the reputation values, the visibility (number of statements) and the tonality are taken into account for each dimension. Finally, these results are statistically weighted and the overall rank is calculated.

The full results of the study are available in fee-based study reports, in each case for the category "Management consultancies" and for the category "Auditing firms" respectively. The reputation scores are presented in detail, as are the visibility, tonality and media sources of the individual companies. The study results are commented throughout. An individual summary and coordinated recommendations for action are provided for each client. Complete information on the study reports is available from Swissreputation.group.

The reputation of the 20 SMI companies in Switzerland shows strong dynamics in the first half of 2023. Holcim leads the ranking and improved by 6 places, followed by ABB in second place. Kuehne+Nagel, as a newcomer, surprised everyone and immediately secured third place. Partners Group and Nestlé had a difficult media semester, while UBS ranked 17th with a high presence but problematic coverage.

The ranking shows that a good reputation has to be hard-earned, as illustrated by the leaps made by Holcim, ABB, Richemont and Lonza. Nestlé and Partners Group, on the other hand, slipped in the rankings due to problems. The analysis was based on over 120,000 statements with AI-assisted text analysis.

Media presence alone does not necessarily lead to a strong reputation. UBS had a high level of media coverage, but predominantly negative headlines. Kühne+Nagel, on the other hand, achieved third place despite a lower media presence because they were perceived positively in relevant topics.

Sustainability is an important driver for a strong reputation. Swisscom retained its top position in this area despite a slight loss. Competition in sustainability topics has increased, with eight companies receiving a high score. Sonova secured the top score in the "Management" area.

A strong media reputation is a sign of successful communication. Companies in the SMI must regularly report on their business performance and respond to external events. Optimal communication of relevant topics leads to a positive media reputation and influences the perception of the company by various stakeholder groups.

Thus was measured

Data basis for the Swiss Reputation Top 20 are all German- and French-language articles on SMI companies in public Swiss online sources (journalistic online media, news portals, websites, blogs, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and others). A sophisticated, AI-supported text analysis is used to calculate the reputation. This specially trained algorithm evaluates - after pre-filtering all media contributions of the selected companies - the statements semantically and assigns them to the five thematic reputation dimensions: products & innovation, profitability, sustainability, management and employer. A company has a strong reputation if it combines media presence with a positive tone in all areas. The best company in each dimension receives an index value of 100, on which the results of the other companies are based. The performance in the individual dimensions is shown with a star score.

The Swissreputation.group based in Zurich, is a consulting firm specializing in AI media analysis, stakeholder analysis and reputation measurement. The measurement programs form the basis for companies to better understand their stakeholders, focus on the strategically right topics, effectively manage their communication and thus achieve impact.

The IMWF Institute has been engaged in analyses of extremely large data volumes from online news and social media with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) since 2013. The company is based in Hamburg and has analyst teams in Leipzig, Vienna and, since 2022, Zurich.

Twelve major health insurance companies analyzed

The benchmark study surveyed the reputation of the health insurers Assura, Atupri, Concordia, CSS, Groupe Mutuel, Helsana, KPT, ÖKK, Sanitas, Swica, Sympany and Visana. For the analysis, the performance of these companies was evaluated in the dimensions responsible for reputation. KPT achieved the top result with top scores in the areas of product & service, innovation and cost-effectiveness. Second-ranked Sympany was also convincing in Product & Service and Profitability and also achieved a top result in Management. Swica came third with very good scores in management and as an employer.

High visibility does not guarantee a good reputation

The reputation analysis was based on all publicly accessible Swiss media and online sources in the entire year 2022. It showed that the companies with the greatest media visibility -CSS, Visana and Helsana - do not automatically receive the best reputation.

"Good visibility only becomes a reputation driver in combination with a positive tone. That is why CSS, Visana and Helsana did not achieve good reputation scores everywhere despite their high visibility. KPT, on the other hand, is in the middle of the pack with visibility, but reaches the top spot thanks to high tonality scores," explains Lukas Zihlmann of Swissreputation.group.

"Innovation" and "blue-collar employer" as reputation drivers with potential

While topics relating to products & services, profitability, sustainability and management are relatively well represented, only 3.3 percent of the statements are assigned to the dimensions "innovation" and only 3.2 percent to "employer". KPT, Groupe Mutuel and Sanitas are convincing when it comes to innovation topics, whereas Helsana, ÖKK, Concordia and Assura have no media presence in this area.

When it comes to perception as an employer, Swica, Visana and Concordia stand out with the best scores. Sympany, ÖKK and Atupri, on the other hand, fail to achieve sufficient employer visibility in the media. "Due to the small number of innovation and employer topics, even a few communication measures in the two areas can have a comparatively large effect and consequently influence the overall reputation," concludes Zihlmann.

Sustainability as a topic not yet everywhere

Social, ecological and economic sustainability was the subject of 18 percent of the statements analyzed. This means that sustainability is the reputation dimension with the most mentions after product & service - a share of 40 percent of the statements. The ranking of the twelve health insurance companies shows, however, that the inherently good presence with regard to sustainability topics does not yet result in strong reputation values for most companies. The reason for this is the exceptional performance of Visana, which combines very high visibility with top tonality scores.

"Since the values in the individual reputation dimensions are always based on the best company in each case, the results of the other health insurance companies, despite good performance in some cases, recede somewhat into the background," says Luka Zihlmann. "Visana is the clear benchmark in terms of sustainability. And for some companies, sustainability is simply not yet an issue."

Reputation measurement using AI

According to the study authors, the analyses in this benchmark study were carried out using AI-based, customized and extensively "trained" software. As a data basis, all publicly accessible media and online mentions of the twelve included health insurance companies were collected in the period from January 1 to December 31, 2022: These include journalistic online media, news portals, forums and blogs, but also social media such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and other sources.

An AI-assisted text analysis then semantically evaluated the collected statements and assigned them to the relevant reputation dimensions. Based on the number of statements and the assigned tonality (positive/neutral/negative), the reputation values of the six individual dimensions were determined. The overall reputation is calculated by adding the weighted individual values.

The complete benchmark study, which is subject to a fee, includes detailed results on the reputation of the 12 health insurers. Complete information on the overall study is available from Swissreputation.group.

The dynamics of corporate reputation are significantly greater in the media than among the general public. After Swisscom, ABB and Swiss Life topped the SMI Reputation Index in H1 2022, Sika, Nestlé and Zurich are now at the top.

Specialty chemicals company Sika and insurer Zurich were already in the top half of the rankings in the first half of 2022, but Nestlé made the big leap. After the company had still been hit in April and May 2022 with an E. coli B

Although Nestlé was confronted with a scandal involving the use of certain chemicals and a corresponding lawsuit, the second half of the year was dominated by positive news - including on vegan product lines and the circular economy. Nestlé achieved the top score of all SMI companies in the Products & Innovation dimension and showed a balanced reputation profile in all other areas. The overall result was 2nd place.

However, the company with the best media reputation in the 2nd half of 2002 was Sika. It has the best perception as an employer and also achieved a top result in terms of profitability. Only in the area of management was the result below average. Zurich, in third place, scored very well in products & innovation and profitability, but lagged behind in sustainability.

Swisscom with top score in terms of sustainability

As in the first half of the year, Swisscom again achieved the best reputation score for sustainability in the second half. It was the only company to achieve 3 stars. Givaudan also repeated its top score in the area of management. No other SMI company achieved a similarly good media perception of its management as the flavor and fragrance manufacturer from Vernier. Swiss Life can also be pleased about its renewed top result in the reputation factor of economic efficiency. The life insurer had the most positive perception of economic issues in the media.

The ranking reveals numerous changes from the first to the second half of the year. Nestlé made the biggest leap with an improvement of 17 places. Roche (+8 places), Zurich (+5 places) and Holcim (+5 places) also developed positively. Falling back
are Richemont (-7 places) as well as ABB, Geberit, Novartis, Alcon and UBS, which all lost 6 places. Hearing system provider Sonova, which has been part of the SMI since September 2022, ranks 12th.

And this is how it is measured:

The model used in the SMI Reputation Index distinguishes between the five dimensions of products & innovation, profitability, sustainability, management and employer, which define a company's reputation. They are weighted equally for the calculation of the index. A company has a strong reputation if it has a high presence in all areas while maintaining a positive tone. To calculate the index, the first step is to filter out all German- and French-language articles about SMI companies in public Swiss online sources (journalistic online media, news portals, websites, blogs, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and others). The statements selected in this way are checked for content and tonality within the framework of AI-based analyses and assigned to the respective reputation dimensions.