How Strong is Your Brand?

A legendary investor once joked that he knew a sure fire way to ensure getting a $10 million return investing in an airline. All you needed to do was start with $20 million.

Ba-da-bump.

That strategy sounds a lot like the one deployed by a hapless portfolio manager who managed a 401(k) I held with a former employer and whose annual returns were between 2 and 3 percent. I was sure he invested the employees’ contributions in dismal performing sectors such as airlines. Only an internal mutiny succeeded in finally showing him and his third-party administration company the door.

I begin today’s missive with the subject of airlines because CoreBrand just released its 10 most admired and least respected brands in the U.S. and Delta Airlines ranked as 2013’s least respected – trailing even tobacco conglomerate Philip Morris. Now I’ve certainly had my issues with Delta on occasion, but is it really worse in terms of respectability than a cigarette maker?

On the opposite end was a tie between PepsiCo and Coca-Cola for the most respected brands – this from a roster that ranked more than 1,000 companies on terms of familiarity and favorability and implications for business.

I haven’t read the full report, but a few companies/brands that ranked at or near the bottom included: Foot Locker, Rite Aid, Denny’s and tax return giant H&R Block.  Conversely, iconic brands such as Harley Davidson, Hershey’s and Johnson & Johnson were judged as among the most admired.

The CoreBrand report coincides with the release of my former publication’s annual list of the Best Accounting Firms to Work For, which ranks small, midsized and large firms in the U.S. in terms of workplace policies, practices, philosophies, systems and demographics as well as an employee survey measuring their experiences. (I want to know where was this survey when I was toiling at some of my former companies – I would have gladly taken the time to fill it out- in red ink)!

But I digress.

The 2013 list which you can access here includes some familiar names and others who operate just under the radar but nevertheless are outstanding enough to secure a place on that prestigious roster. Apparently not only is their brand strong, but the firms have become a destination spot for talent and retention.

But is it the chicken and the egg scenario?

Are they great places to work because their brand is so strong and respected, or has their brand become strong as a result of their workplace policies?

I leave that to far brighter minds than mine to figure out but the critical thing is that their staffs have evaluated them as being among the best employers in the public accounting space.

And somehow I doubt their 401(k) options include investments in airlines.