What’s in a brand name these days? How does a brand establish and maintain a good reputation in the current heavy business weather of increased transparency and overheated social media? Purpose is one of the three key factors, concludes the 2018 Porter Novelli/Cone Purpose Premium Index: How Companies Can Unlock Reputational Gains by Leading with Purpose. (The other two elements are quality and vision.) The study evaluates consumer perceptions of the top 200 companies in the U.S. and finds that purpose and reputation are intrinsically linked. “Purpose is the final major dimension of reputation,” claims the study. “Comprising 13 percent of a company’s overall reputation, the Purpose Premium, can boost overall reputation to edge out competitors and build vital brand affinity among consumers.” 

John Howell, Editorial Director