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<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:371px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source"><a href="http://www.21st.com/landing-pages/en/autopay-lp.jsp">2st Century</a></p><p class="caption">21st Century's parent company, <keyword id="6477487" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="AIG">AIG</keyword>, needs to clean up its tarnished image this year, which will be no small feat.</p></div>It's no secret that brands like Coca-Cola, Apple, and Google had a great 2012 and are poised for an even greater 2013. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-loved-and-most-hated-brands-of-2012-2013-1">Not all companies are held in such high regard going into the new year, though</a>.</p>
<p><span>We talked to <keyword id="1780412" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="CoreBrand">CoreBrand</keyword>, which measures the f<span>amiliarity and favorability of 1,000 corporate brands across 54 industries in the U.S., to see which companies will have an especially tough year. </span></span></p>
<p><span>CoreBrand conducts 10,000 phone surveys of business leaders every year, asking them about corporate reputations based on favorability, overall reputation, perception of management, and investment potential. It then assigns them a score out of 100 and combines the scores for measured familiarity and favorability. </span></p>
<p><span></span>Some companies it flagged for <keyword id="131950" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="credibility">credibility</keyword> issues, like insurance giant AIG, did not surprise us. But a few other companies hadn't initially crossed our minds as candidates.</p>
<p><span></span>Jim Gregory, founder and CEO of CoreBrand, laid out the 10 brands he and his company see as the ones who will face the most credibility issues in 2013, and the reasons why each of them will have a challenging year. He declined to call them "troubled," but given the marketing challenges they face, we're confident that each of them has their fair share of obstacles ahead of them this year.</p>
<p><em>The companies are ranked according to the BrandPower ranking CoreBrand has calculated for the brands. BrandPower measures size (familiarity) and quality (favorability). Familiarity is a weighted percentage of survey respondents who know more about a brand than just the company's name. Those familiar with a corporation are then asked about the brand's favorability dimensions.</em></p>

10 Brands With Huge Credibility Issues In 2013

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Ken Ishii / Stringer / Getty Images" title_caption="Apple is one of three newcomers to this year's list." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53c425dc6bb3f72d117346b9-960/apple-store-japan-4.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Ken Ishii / Stringer / Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Apple is one of three newcomers to this year's list.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Last year, brand consulting firm CoreBrand's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/corporate-executive-think-these-are-the-10-best-brands-in-america-2013-8" target="_blank">list of America's 10 most respected brands</a> featured a deadlock at the top between two bitter rivals.</p>
<p>Soda giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi tied for No. 1 after CoreBrand's survey respondents gave them identical favorability scores.</p>
<p>But this year, the tie has been broken, and Coca-Cola is back on top with Pepsi a close second.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Here's the complete list of the top 10 most respected brands, including newcomers IBM, Apple, and General Electric:</span></p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Coca-Cola</strong></li>
<li><strong>PepsiCo (Down 1 spot from last year)</strong></li>
<li><strong>Hershey</strong></li>
<li><strong>Bayer (Up 1 spot)</strong></li>
<li><strong>Johnson &amp; Johnson (Up 1 spot)</strong></li>
<li><strong>Harley-Davidson (Down 2 spots)</strong></li>
<li><strong>IBM (Not on last year's list)</strong></li>
<li><strong>Apple (Not on last year's list)</strong></li>
<li><strong>Kellogg (Down two spots)</strong></li>
<li><strong>General Electric (Not on last year's list)</strong></li>
</ol>
<p>CoreBrand creates its list by surveying 10,000 executives at companies with revenues greater than $50 million, asking them to rate 500 brands on familiarity and favorability.</p>
<p>The 100 most familiar brands are then ranked based on favorability, which CoreBrand determines by asking respondents how they perceive brands' management capabilities, investment potential, and overall reputation.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.corebrand.com/images/downloads/CoreBrand_BrandRespect_2014.pdf" target="_blank">You can read CoreBrand's full report here.</a></p>

These Are America's 10 Most Respected Brands

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/chinese-customers-enter-the-newly-opened-apple-store-in-news-photo/154437412#">Feng Li / Getty Images</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-most-powerful-brands-in-the-world-2014-3#">Some consumers report</a> being tired of Apple's advertising style, yet its brand continues to be one of the strongest in the world.</p>
<p>Brand strategy firm <a href="http://www.corebrand.com/images/downloads/CoreBrand_Most_Powerful_Brands_2014.pdf">CoreBrand has released its rankings</a> of the 100 most powerful global brands. While Apple was the only tech company to crack the top 10, several others made an appearance further down the rankings. </p>
<p>To compile the rankings, CoreBrand surveyed 10,000 executives at 1,000 companies over a five-year span, asking them how familiar they were with a particular brand and how favorably they viewed them. </p>
<p>Here's a ranking of the top tech brands, according to where they fell <a href="http://www.corebrand.com/images/downloads/CoreBrand_Most_Powerful_Brands_2014.pdf">on CoreBrand's list</a>. </p>
<h2>10. eBay </h2>
<p>The e-commerce giant has shot up CoreBrand's list in recent years, gaining 58 spots over the past five years. This year, it ranked 59th out of 100 overall. <strong>(59th/100)</strong><strong><br /></strong></p>
<h2>9. Samsung </h2>
<p>Samsung continues to be perceived strongly by business executives, moving up 5 spaces over last year to land in 52nd place out of 100. <strong>(52nd/100)</strong></p>
<h2>8. IBM </h2>
<p>IBM's reputation among businesses is steadily improving. It's 49th-place ranking is a 15-spot increase over last year. <strong>(49th/100)</strong></p>
<h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dell_wiki.JPG">Wikimedia</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>7. Dell </h2>
<p>Dell moved down one spot from last year's ranking, coming in at the 48th spot out of 100. <strong>(48th/100)</strong></p>
<h2>6. AT&amp;T </h2>
<p>AT&amp;T lost four places from 2013, moving down from 29th to 33rd. <strong>(33rd/100)</strong>  </p>
<h2>5. Sony</h2>
<p>Sony continues to perform relatively well on CoreBrand's rankings, despite moving down 12 spots in the last 5 years.  <strong>(31st/100)</strong></p>
<h2>4. Yahoo</h2>
<p>The Marissa Mayer-led company is growing in popularity, gaining 44 spots in the last five years.<strong> (28th/100)</strong></p>
<h2>3. Google</h2>
<p>Google has seen incredible improvement since 2008, moving up 90 positions over the past five years. <strong>(26th/100)</strong></p>
<h2>2. Microsoft</h2>
<p>Microsoft had the largest gain of the top 25 brands, moving up 9 spaces to rank 11th. It has moved up 34 spaces  since 2008. <strong>(11th/100)</strong></p>
<h2>1. Apple</h2>
<p>Apple is known for being a highly creative company with an incredibly powerful brand, and it was the only tech company to rank in the top 10 of CoreBrand's rankings this year. <strong>(10th/100)</strong></p>

The Most Powerful Brands In Tech

<p dir="ltr"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source">kreg.steppe via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spyndle/5047889128/">www.flickr.com</a> Creative Commons</p></div></div>A </span><a href="http://www.corebrand.com/brandpower/reports">report released Tuesday by brand consulting firm CoreBrand</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> found that soft drink stalwarts <keyword id="6391475" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Coca-Cola">Coca-Cola</keyword> and Pepsi are America's most respected <keyword id="31174" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="brands">brands</keyword> among a group of 10,000 vice-president level corporate executives.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">CoreBrand polled executives from top U.S. companies about how they felt about more than 1,000 brands based on their reputation, management, and investment potential. Then CoreBrand took the 100 brands its polling audience was most familiar with and ranked them by favorability to determine the 10 most respected brands.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Other highlights include <keyword id="96419" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Harley-Davidson">Harley-Davidson</keyword> and Kellogg. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>CoreBrand CEO Jim Gregory explained to us why these top brands made the list.<span></span></span></p>

Corporate Executive Think These Are The 10 Best Brands In America

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right click-to-enlarge" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><a title_source="AP Photo/Jeff Chiu" title_caption="Apple CEO Tim Cook greets a crowd of his cult of consumers." class="zoomin" href="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5283983e6da811254bf11fb2-960/tim%20cook%20wave.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source">AP Photo/Jeff Chiu</p><p class="caption"><keyword id="6354427" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Apple">Apple</keyword> CEO Tim Cook greets a crowd of his cult of consumers.</p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>Apple is the second most respected brand in the technology industry, according to a poll of 10,000 vp-level executives conducted by the brand consulting firm CoreBrand.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Execs from many of the world's largest companies were asked to rate a brand's familiarity and its favorability, from a list CoreBrand assembled of the most recognizable <keyword id="31174" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="brands">brands</keyword> in the U.S. The brands also had to have been publicly traded for at least five years, as well as tracked by CoreBrand for five years to be included in the rankings (</span><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">NOTE: </strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">you will not see Google in this list because the firm has not followed them long enough).</span></p>
<p>Those with the smallest gap between familiarity and favorability were determined to be the "most respected," which CoreBrand regards as a key element of building a successful brand.</p>
<p>Here are the technology sector's most admirable brands, according to top executives:</p>
<p><strong>1. <keyword id="10875" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="IBM">IBM</keyword>: </strong>Though Apple may have a cult following among consumers, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ibm-watson-cancer-2013-10">IBM</a> provides unparalleled IT services to businesses. It excels in data analytics and cloud computing, and is rapidly growing in emerging markets.  </p>
<p><strong>2. Apple: </strong>Apple is poised to reclaim its title as the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ipad-air-commercial-2013-10">most creative</a> company, with its upcoming iPad Air and its iOS7-powered iPhone 5S. Its place at number two is likely due to its dull performance for most of the year.</p>
<p><strong>3. Microsoft:</strong> Microsoft's Windows operating system <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/microsofts-biggest-problem-in-one-chart-2013-9">severely trails</a> Google's Android, but Microsoft's platforms remain the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/9-things-microsoft-does-better-than-apple-2013-11#microsofts-upcoming-project-spark-is-exciting-because-it-makes-creating-interactive-content-on-microsofts-platforms-insanely-intuitive-even-fun-apples-xcode-while-great-for-experienced-developers-is-nowhere-near-as-approachable-for-your-average-person-1">top choice</a> for many developers. <strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>4. Yahoo: </strong>Yahoo CEO <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/om-malik-yahoo-2013-8">Marissa Mayer</a> has famously turned the brand from a dinosaur into something relevant, with a revamp of its homepage and mail service, as well as the acquisition of blogging site Tumblr.</p>
<p><strong>5. Texas Instruments:</strong> TI's reputation for manufacturing semiconductors is rock solid, and they have consistently been lauded for their <a href="http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/company/awardfactsheet.shtml">business ethics</a>.</p>
<p>Aside from the glaring omission of Google, CoreBrand said the results should not be surprising. "We suspect if we simply polled people about who would be at the top, the list would look something similar to this," they wrote in the report.</p>

Apple's Peers And Competitors Say It's The Second Best Brand In Tech

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source"><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult_VPage&amp;VBID=2C0BXZLB5DE_9&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1589&amp;RH=836#/SearchResult_VPage&amp;VBID=2C0BXZLB5DE_9&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1589&amp;RH=836&amp;PN=2">Reuters/Natalie Behring</a></p></div></div>A <a href="http://www.corebrand.com/brandpower/reports">report released today by brand consulting firm CoreBrand</a> found that <keyword id="6383835" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Delta">Delta</keyword> is America's least respected brand among a group of 10,000 vice-president level corporate executives.</p>
<p>CoreBrand polled executives from top U.S. companies about how they felt about more than 1,000 brands based on their reputation, management, and investment potential. Then CoreBrand took the 100 brands its polling audience was most familiar with and ranked them by favorability to determine the 10 least respected brands.</p>
<p>Other lowlights include JCPenney and Best Buy.</p>

Corporate Executives Think These Are The 10 Worst Brands In America

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="AP" title_caption="Apple CEO Tim Cook" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/52d92c286da8112041dd0e7b-960/tim-cook-apple-60.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p><p class="caption">Apple CEO Tim Cook</p></div><p></p></div></div>The brand strategy firm CoreBrand just released its rankings of the world's 100 most powerful brands.</p>
<p>Despite reports that consumers are getting tired of Apple's <keyword id="35666" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="advertising">advertising</keyword>, the company was the only tech brand to make the top 10 and climbed six spots from 2013.</p>
<p>Apple - not the top brand - was joined on the list by four food and drink brands, a financial services company, a media giant, two medical and chemical companies, and America's motorcycle king. The biggest upward mover on the list was Amazon, which cracked the top 100 for the first time by jumping 25 spots to No. 91.</p>
<p>CoreBrand determined its rankings through surveys of 10,000 business executives at 1,000 companies over the past five years measuring how familiar people were with various brands and how favorably they viewed them.</p>

These Are The Only 9 Brands That Command More Respect Than Apple

<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><br />CoreBrand, a New York based brand strategy firm, has released its latest list of the</span><a href="http://www.corebrand.com/images/downloads/CoreBrand_Most_Powerful_Brands_2014.pdf" target="_blank"> 100 most powerful brands in the world</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">. As expected, the automotive industry features prominently, but none were able to crack the top 15.</span></p>
<p>CoreBrand's research tracks what they refer to as "BrandPower," a measure of the size and quality of a company's brand name.<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> T<span>o compile the rankings, CoreBrand surveyed 10,000 executives at 1,000 companies over a five-year span, asking them how familiar they were with a particular brand and how favorably they viewed them. </span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Here's how the world's car brands fared:</span></p>
<h3>10. Mazda (100/100 on CoreBrand's list)</h3>
<p><strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Motor Authority</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></span></strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Though the Hiroshima based automaker has fallen 6 spots in the last year, Mazda has still seen its BrandPower increase by 4 spots over the last 5 years. Through its "Zoom Zoom" marketing campaign, Mazda has portrayed itself as the car company for those with sporting pretensions, focusing on its Skyactiv engine technology. This plan seems to be working out for Mazda, as </span><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/03/08/toyota-will-use-mazda-skyactiv-engines/" target="_blank">Toyota recently announced that it will use Skyactiv </a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">motors in its upcoming subcompact cars. </span></p>
<h3>9. Mitsubishi Motors (99/100)</h3>
<p><strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Wikimedia Commons</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></span></strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In recent years, </span><a href="http://www.autonews.com/article/20140126/RETAIL06/301279994/mitsubishi-dealers-struggle-through-dearth-of-product" target="_blank">Mitsubishi Motors has struggled mightily </a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">in the U.S. market and this has been reflected in its rankings. Mitsubishi fell 8 spots since last year's survey, and has dropped 19 spots over the last 5 years.</span></p>
<h3>8. Nissan (82/100)</h3>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Newspress USA</span></p></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Even though </span><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/03/03/asian-hyundai-toyota-honda-nissan-subaru-mazda/5952103/" target="_blank">Nissan sales are up 15.8%</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> over last year, its rank fell 10 spots in the last year and has plummeted 41 spots over the last 5 years.</span></span></p>
<h3>7. General Motors (67/100)</h3>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Alex Davies / Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Over the last 5 years, GM has seen its BrandPower drop 30 spots. Though the company managed to claw back 3 spots over the last year, its </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/report-gm-misled-grieving-families-about-lethal-glitch-2014-3" target="_blank">recent recall scandal </a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">does not bode well for next year's rankings. </span></span></p>
<h3>6. Ford Motor Company (57/100)</h3>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Motor Authority</span></p></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Ford Motor Company has remained relatively stable over the last few years and so has its BrandPower. According to CoreBrand, Ford has fallen just 1 spot over the past year and a total of 5 spots over the past 5 years. Ford supporters should be buoyed by the company's </span><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/11/20/2015-lincoln-mkc-la-2013/" target="_blank">attempts to rejuvenate its ailing Lincoln brand</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">.  </span></span></p>
<h3>5. Toyota (37/100)</h3>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Toyota</span></p></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Over the past 5 years, Toyota has seen its BrandPower tumble 24 spots. Much of this can be attributed to </span><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/toyotas-president-save-face-bows-apology/story?id=9757391" target="_blank">the "unintended acceleration" scandal and the public resignation</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> of its management team in 2010. Toyota's fall from grace seems to be coming to an end after dipping only 2 spots in the last year.</span></span></p>
<h3>4. Volvo (36/100)</h3>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Newspress</span></p></div><p></p></div></div><a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303802104579452582342383794?mg=reno64-wsj&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303802104579452582342383794.html" target="_blank">Despite its recent sales growth</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">, Volvo's has struggled to return to its former glory as the king of safety. Since the dissolution of Ford's Premier Automotive Group and its sale to China's Geely Group, Volvo Cars has seen its ranking slip 12 spots over the last 5 years and 8 spots over the last year. </span></span></p>
<h3>3. Honda Motor Company (30/100)</h3>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Newspress</span></p></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Honda Motors saw its rank fall 16 spots over the past 5 years, and 4 spots since the 2013 rankings. Much of Honda's fall can be attributed to the growth of its competitors. Once the undisputed king of compact cars,  the automaker now must face growing competition from </span><a href="http://www.autonews.com/article/20140324/OEM04/140329952/0?cciid=internal-anhome-mostright#" target="_blank">challengers like Kia, Hyundai, </a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">and a rejuvenated Nissan. </span></span></p>
<h3>2.Volkswagen (27/100)</h3>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Volkswagen</span></p></div><p></p></div></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The fact that Volkswagen is 3 spots down over last year and 9 spots down over the past five years does not reflect </span><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2013/04/17/volkswagens-mission-to-dominate-global-auto-industry-gets-noticeably-harder/" target="_blank">the automaker's aggressive marketing and expansion scheme</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">. However, an explanation for this may be </span><a href="http://247wallst.com/autos/2013/10/02/volkswagen-fails-in-the-u-s/" target="_blank">Volkswagen's slip in sales due to its ongoing struggle </a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">with the long-term reliability of its products. </span></span></p>
<h3>1. BMW (17/100)</h3>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>BMW</span></p></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">BMW tops the list for most power car brands once again. In fact, it even managed to climb 2 spots over last year in the overall rankings. Even though, it has fallen 6 spots over the past 5 years, the maker of the Ultimate Driving Machine is going strong and is </span><a href="http://www.autonews.com/article/20140327/OEM04/140329889/bmw-x7-poised-to-make-s-c-plant-an-even-bigger-manufacturing" target="_blank">even expanding its production facility in the U.S.</a></span></p>

The 10 Most Powerful Car Brands Today

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Flickr/Fuyoh!" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/52828c916bb3f72959d7df66-960/thumbs-down-3.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fuyoh/3318984918/sizes/m/in/photolist-64hEzU-65sgV1-661Tes-69KZkS-6hDbi4-6nFFj1-6p5vRy-6qLkh5-6tErYG-6u4ZHu-6xazuN-6FEYk5-6Jdcfk-6NiJwF-6TGhzC-74Se7Y-76rn3Q-78EQzW-7dVKLw-7g2MpB-7g2MMB-7g2MS6-7g2MV8-7g6HsL-7jrrnw-7k9ND1-7oQMzf-7t4YfL-7tzXHw-84uXrC-dD5VR3-7FqDQd-edQFdf-9SaMZc-a72Pmc-9BVp2r-9tuisH-9jawXE-bW4F2t-7xUoJv-89pWms-8bryAe-aARjAr-8ZGUia-9Lbgju-9L8pyx-9LbeUf-7F1WyS-9L8vnn-8FCu1m-85ZBGf/">Flickr/Fuyoh!</a></p></div><p></p></div>The brand consulting firm CoreBrand <a href="http://www.corebrand.com/brandpower/reports">has released a new report</a> that reveals the most and least respected technology <keyword id="31174" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="brands">brands</keyword> among 10,000 of the most powerful men and women in American business.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">CoreBrand polled vice-president level executives from top U.S. companies on how they felt about more than 1,000 brands based on their reputation, management, and investment potential. Then CoreBrand took the brands its polling audience was most familiar with and ranked them by favorability to determine the five brands in each product sector that were most and least respected by the executives.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Here are the five <keyword id="6358815" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="tech">tech</keyword> brands corporate executives respect the least:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"></span><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">1. Unisys</strong><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">: Provides information technology services and IT consulting for large corporations and government agencies. Unisys' specialties include banking technology services, outsourcing, and the integration of complex technology systems.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;"></span><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">2. Cognizant Technology</strong><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">: Like Unisys, Cognizant Technology is a business-to-business company providing information technology and IT consulting services. The growth of its outsourcing business placed the company on Fortune magazine's list of the 100 fastest-growing companies every year from 2003 to 2012.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;"></span><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">3. Ingram Micro</strong><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">: Ingram Micro is the world's largest wholesale distributor of information technology, marketing technology and mobile products a list of the world's biggest companies that includes Apple, Cisco, and Microsoft.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;"></span><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">4. Analog Devices</strong><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">: One of the biggest manufacturers of computer chips, Analog Devices has approximately 60,000 customers for its signal processing products. While its hard to brand computer chips, companies like Intel have worked to explain to consumers why electronics products bearing its chips are better than those featuring the hardware of its competitors.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;"></span><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">5. Seagate</strong>: A data storage and hard disk manufacturer that has to date sold more than 2 billion hard disk drives worldwide.  </p>
<p>The poll seems to imply that there just isn't really a way for these business-to-business brands to win. While it doesn't make sense for them to spend millions of dollars on big-time <keyword id="35666" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="advertising">advertising</keyword> campaigns that will reach an audience made up primarily of people who will never buy their products, not having a big media presence seems to have earned the disrespect of their peers in corporate America.</p>

These Are The 5 Worst Brands In All Of Tech, As Ranked By Their Competitors And Peers

<p><table class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"><a title_source="YouTube/StarKittyF4i" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/50f45907eab8ea6731000007-960/gun-teenager.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a></div><p class="source"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l21phub8sT4">YouTube/StarKittyF4i</a></p></td></tr></table>In the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shooting, <keyword id="1127786" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gun-control">gun control</keyword> has been thrust into the spotlight once again. The gun industry — and its lobby group, the NRA — stands firmly against gun control of any kind.</p>
<p>But most people forget that 13 years ago Smith &amp; Wesson tried to do something that, in hindsight, seems radical: reach a compromise with the federal government by accepting some sort of gun control, in return for permission to stay in business, albeit with more strict regulation. <a href="http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/New/html/20000317_2.html"></a></p>
<p><a href="http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/New/html/20000317_2.html">It's also important to note this this was the first-ever compromise</a> in which a major <span>gun manufacturer committed to fundamentally changing the way guns are made, distributed and sold.<br /></span></p>
<p>The company also believed the move had PR value: It hoped to burnish its brand by becoming the foremost firearms company that cared about safety.</p>
<p>The attempt nearly killed the company.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category4_750001_750051_757941_-1_757938_757812_image">Smith &amp; Wesson has been around since the mid 1800s</a>. The company is one of the standard issuers of firearms for the police and armed forces across the nation. Things were going well for the firm until 2000.</p>
<p>That year, <a href="http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/New/html/20000317_2.html">President Bill Clinton proposed legislation</a> that enforced safety and design standards, such as locking devices and restrictions on magazine sizes, and limits on the sales and distribution of firearms. No marketing or advertising restrictions were put in place. Clinton had been working on gun safety for the later part of his term, so this was a huge milestone for his efforts. Current New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was the architect behind the agreement. </p>
<p>Smith &amp; Wesson voluntarily jumped on board.</p>
<p>There is a history of companies doing this type of thing. Most famously, tobacco companies have accepted stringent regulation of their product. Liquor companies make the same regulatory compromises all the time. Both industries are subject to all sort of arcane laws limiting their marketing, advertising, and distribution.</p>
<p>But those regulations always guarantee one thing: The right to stay in business.</p>
<p>So S&amp;W agreed to play along with this agreement and to be accountable for its enforcement by a five-member oversight commission.</p>
<p>Much to the company's surprise, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/smith-and-wesson-took-the-lead-on-safety-2012-12">NRA almost immediately instigated a boycott of its products</a>. Other gun companies looked down on S&amp;W for giving into political persuasion, and gun advocates didn't agree with the new restrictions S&amp;W succumbed to.</p>
<p>Consumers began refusing to buy S&amp;W products and the market became flooded with used S&amp;W goods that people wanted no part of. Gun enthusiasts saw the company as breaking solidarity with them, as a traitor and perpetrator of gun control. Consumers severely punished the firm for its disloyalty.</p>
<p>Needless to say, S&amp;W was taken completely off guard by the response.</p>
<p>The firm experienced an immediate sales decline of nearly 40 percent in the year after its compromise.</p>
<p><div class="image-container click-to-enlarge" style="width:590px"><div class="image"><a title_source="Bloomberg Data/Christina Austin BI" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/50f6b48aeab8ea696a000007-960/screen%20shot%202013-01-16%20at%209.07.44%20am.png"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a></div><p class="source">Bloomberg Data/Christina Austin BI</p></div></p>
<p>Despite the drastic downturn (or perhaps because of it), another company, Saf-T-Hammer, was interested in purchasing the company and putting it back on its feet. The company realized the brand, and its name, were worth salvaging.</p>
<p>In 2001, shortly after the political fiasco, Saf-T-Hammer,<a href="http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-75835884/saf-t-hammer-buys.html"> purchased the firm for $45 million</a>, with the intent of incorporating its security products onto all S&amp;W goods. The new company was named Smith &amp; Wesson Holding Company.</p>
<p>Fast forward 13 years, and the gun debate is back on the minds of politicians and civilians alike. According to CoreBrand, which conducts research on the familiarity and favorability of 1,000 American corporate brands, S&amp;W is incredibly wary of becoming involved in the political sphere again. CoreBrand worked with the firearms company as it was "coming out of its depression and revitalizing."</p>
<p>"It needs to get over its anguish," says CoreBrand founder Jim Gregory. "It has the opportunity to lead the conversation with other gun manufacturers about proper safety measures. It can help educate about guns, which would definitely be in its best interest."</p>
<p>According to Gregory, the team that facilitated the Clinton agreement on the S&amp;W side is no longer with the company, which at this point can be seen as both a good and bad thing. Good because they made a major mistake, and bad because they can't help the reformed company learn from the mistake and avoid it this time around. </p>
<p>"It can create a long-term strategy instead of being politicized out of existence," said Gregory. </p>
<p>In terms of why S&amp;W went along with the legislation in the first place, Gregory thinks the political pressure may have been hard to deflect, much like how Obama's administration is handling the current gun debate. Gregory says Obama's strong statement against gun violence may create another round of political pressure for these firms. </p>
<p>Basically, gun companies are sitting and waiting to see if Obama will force things upon them or if he expects gun companies to regulate themselves.</p>
<p>Other companies, such as Citgo, because it is owned by Venezuela, and BP, after its oil spills, have experienced customer boycotts, but Gregory says none have been as effective as the boycott against S&amp;W. </p>
<p>"They typically don't last very long and are quite short-lived," said Gregory of the past boycotts against other companies.</p>
<p>Today, Gregory thinks some customers have forgiven and forgotten, while others may still hold personal boycotts against S&amp;W. The firm has gone to great lengths to improve its image, from introducing new products, to inserting itself into public relations through media impressions, supporting shooting competitions, the Olympics, and community activities in general. </p>
<p>Still, Gregory says some people will always see gun producers in a bad light, no matter how much they give back to the community or enforce safety. These people will never be swayed otherwise. </p>
<p>While some will never be convinced of the benefits of guns, others rushed out to purchase more guns after the Connecticut shooting. Whether it's because they felt unsafe without a weapon, or because they feared legislation that would prohibit future sales of firearms, is yet to be understood. </p>
<p><div class="image-container click-to-enlarge" style="width:590px"><div class="image"><a title_source="Yahoo Finance" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/50f856eeeab8ea0a23000009-960/screen%20shot%202013-01-17%20at%202.51.52%20pm.png"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a></div><p class="source"><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=SWHC+Interactive#symbol=swhc;range=2y;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined;">Yahoo Finance</a></p></div></p>
<p>This chart shows how S&amp;W's stock price has grown threefold since early 2011.</p>
<p>Other gun companies have seen great days lately, as well. Hyatt Gun Store, in Charlotte, had a record-breaking day following the Connecticut massacre. The store sold over <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/queen_city_agenda/2012/12/charlotte-gun-shop-breaks-sales.html">$1 million in products in one day</a>, the highest single-day profit since the store opened in 1959. Hyatt isn't the only store that experienced this. Walmart gun shelves were cleaned out as well, according to a report by Bloomberg.</p>
<p>This surge in purchases could have contributed to S&amp;W's impressive sales revenue from 2012. </p>
<p>Today, the gun industry is under extreme political duress again as sales continue to spike. History — and the finances — suggest there won't be any compromises this time round.</p>

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