The latest Kantar Corporate Reputation Index, produced by Wright Communications in partnership with Kantar, has been running for 13 years and tracks public perceptions of organisations across trust, leadership and success, as well as fairness and responsibility.
Kantar’s Sarah Bolger said 6,500 New Zealand consumers took part in the survey. The results placed Toyota New Zealand in first position for the third consecutive year, followed by PAK’nSAVE in second place for the third year running. AA Insurance rose into the top three for the first time, ranking ahead of TVNZ.
Air New Zealand dropped two places to fifth, while Lotto slipped one to sixth. New World remained unchanged in seventh place. Southern Cross made a significant jump of eight places to eighth, followed by Mitre 10, which climbed four places to ninth. Samsung fell two places to tenth, while Bunnings held steady in eleventh.
ASB recorded a major rise of 12 places to twelfth, ahead of Zespri, which slipped one place to thirteenth. Kiwibank dropped four places to fourteenth, while Mainfreight surged 11 places to fifteenth. AMI made one of the biggest gains, up 20 places to sixteenth, followed by ANZ, which rose two places to seventeenth. Z increased by 10 places to eighteenth, Woolworths climbed 16 places to nineteenth, and 2degrees rounded out the top 20, up one place.
“This is an important survey to businesses, because reputation underpins everything in business,” Bolger said.
“In a year marked by economic pressure, global uncertainty and declining trust in many institutions, New Zealanders are rewarding companies that feel dependable, consistent and genuinely useful in their everyday lives.”
She said the highest-performing brands are not necessarily the loudest or most aspirational, but rather those that people believe will show up, deliver value, treat customers fairly, and behave responsibly when times are tough.