Up and Down in the Swiss Reputation Ranking

The first half of 2023 saw major shifts in the reputation of the 20 SMI companies in Switzerland. Holcim and ABB improved by 6 places, while Kühne+Nagel as a newcomer directly gained 3rd place.

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 worked hard for, as illustrated by the jumps made by Holcim, ABB, Richemont and Lonza. Nestlé and Partners Group, on the other hand, slipped down the rankings due to problems. The analysis was based on over 120,000 statements with AI-supported text analysis.

SMI companies Reputation

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 issues has increased, with eight companies receiving a high rating. Sonova secured the top score in the "Management" category.

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.


This is how it was measured: The SWISS REPUTATION TOP 20 is based on 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). 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.


About swissreputation.group and IMWF: 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. With its multi-method offering, swissreputation.group is the leading specialist for data-driven communication and reputation. Since 2013, the IMWF Institute has been working on analyses of extremely large amounts of data from online news and social media using artificial intelligence (AI). AI is the game changer in corporate communications and marketing - and IMWF is one of Europe's leading specialists in this field. The company is based in Hamburg and has analyst teams in Leipzig, Vienna and, since 2022, Zurich.

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