Echo Research

Last week in New York, Echo hosted a cross-sector executive roundtable to launch our latest Reputation Dividend / valuation study. The room spanned from healthcare to tech, industrials to finance, from communications and risk specialists to NEDs - and yet the conversation converged fast on one point: Boards still talk about reputation like it’s ‘soft’. Markets price it like hard capital. Our new S&P 500 valuation analysis puts a hard number on what many leaders feel but few measure: reputation now represents over $13.8 trillion of shareholder value in the US market. That isn’t a footnote. That is a strategic asset class hiding in plain sight. What the data makes unavoidable: 👉 96% of US companies are gaining value from reputation with 2% eroding it. So, reputation is already working for (or against) almost everyone. 👉 Reputation contribution sits around a quarter of total market value, with meaningful variation by sector - but no sector is immune. 👉 And the biggest value drivers aren’t ‘nice to have’ narratives. They’re board-grade levers: long-term value potential, financial soundness, quality, innovation, people, management. So, if reputation is capital, the next question is simple: Are you managing it with the same discipline you manage financial capital? Or are you leaving trillions of dollars’ worth of value on the table – to be guided by intuition, anecdotes, and last year’s playbook alone? The uncomfortable takeaway for 2026 planning From both a risk and growth perspective, the hard data points in one direction: this may be the worst possible time to cut investment in professional communications and risk & reputation management. Because volatility doesn’t reduce reputational exposure - it multiplies it. And when competitors pull back, reputational advantage compounds the fastest for those who keep building trust, evidence, and visibility. The challenge to leaders 1️⃣ If you can’t quantify reputational value, you can’t defend it 2️⃣ If you can’t identify your value drivers, you can’t grow it 3️⃣ And if the board doesn’t see reputation in the same dashboard as financial performance, you’re flying half-blind. Thank you to everyone who joined us in New York, with Paula Davis and Guy Gresham who pushed this discussion into strategy, capital allocation, risk management and governance. The next step is turning these insights into evidence-based processes, resources, and decisions that protect and grow intangible value, before the market forces the issue. If you’re tackling this at board or C-suite level and want to compare notes, we’d love to continue the conversation. Get in touch here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eP_UVXKe #EchoResearch #ReputationDividend #CorporateReputation #ReputationValuation #ReputationManagement #IntangibleAssets #ReputationIsCapital #RiskManagement #BoardGovernance #Trust #BusinessStrategy

Last week in New York, Echo hosted a cross-sector executive roundtable to launch our latest Reputation Dividend / valuation study. The room spanned from healthcare to tech, industrials to finance, from communications and risk specialists to NEDs - and yet the conversation converged fast on one point: Boards still talk about reputation like it’s ‘soft’. Markets price it like hard capital. Our new S&P 500 valuation analysis puts a hard number on what many leaders feel but few measure: reputation now represents over $13.8 trillion of shareholder value in the US market. That isn’t a footnote. That is a strategic asset class hiding in plain sight. What the data makes unavoidable: 👉 96% of US companies are gaining value from reputation with 2% eroding it. So, reputation is already working for (or against) almost everyone. 👉 Reputation contribution sits around a quarter of total market value, with meaningful variation by sector - but no sector is immune. 👉 And the biggest value drivers aren’t ‘nice to have’ narratives. They’re board-grade levers: long-term value potential, financial soundness, quality, innovation, people, management. So, if reputation is capital, the next question is simple: Are you managing it with the same discipline you manage financial capital? Or are you leaving trillions of dollars’ worth of value on the table – to be guided by intuition, anecdotes, and last year’s playbook alone? The uncomfortable takeaway for 2026 planning From both a risk and growth perspective, the hard data points in one direction: this may be the worst possible time to cut investment in professional communications and risk & reputation management. Because volatility doesn’t reduce reputational exposure - it multiplies it. And when competitors pull back, reputational advantage compounds the fastest for those who keep building trust, evidence, and visibility. The challenge to leaders 1️⃣ If you can’t quantify reputational value, you can’t defend it 2️⃣ If you can’t identify your value drivers, you can’t grow it 3️⃣ And if the board doesn’t see reputation in the same dashboard as financial performance, you’re flying half-blind. Thank you to everyone who joined us in New York, with Paula Davis and Guy Gresham who pushed this discussion into strategy, capital allocation, risk management and governance. The next step is turning these insights into evidence-based processes, resources, and decisions that protect and grow intangible value, before the market forces the issue. If you’re tackling this at board or C-suite level and want to compare notes, we’d love to continue the conversation. Get in touch here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eP_UVXKe #EchoResearch #ReputationDividend #CorporateReputation #ReputationValuation #ReputationManagement #IntangibleAssets #ReputationIsCapital #RiskManagement #BoardGovernance #Trust #BusinessStrategy

🏆Britain's Most Admired Companies 2025 short list🏆 We are delighted to reveal the impressive short list for Britain's Most Admired Companies 2025, celebrating excellence in corporate performance. The winners will be announced on the 16 January 2026 at our annual awards ceremony in London, hosted by Dame Julia Hoggett, Chief Executive Officer of the London Stock Exchange. Now in its 36th year, the Britain's Most Admired Companies study is delivered by Echo Research, in partnership with the London Stock Exchange. View the short list here 👉 https://lnkd.in/etTGwNDb #BritainsMostAdmired2025 #ReputationResearch #CorporateReputation #Leadership

Winner Alan Carr crowned the ‘King of Chaos’ – and of engagement! 👑   The final episode kept viewers guessing to the very end, as Joe and Nick’s last-minute breakdown in trust added extra drama to an already tense conclusion.   Overall, the final episode became the most talked about of the series - driving a staggering 1.1M in engagement, nearly three times that of the launch.   Reputationally, it’s been a big win for both the BBC, with a “sensational ending,” and for Alan Carr, hailed as “the best thing to ever happen to TV!”   Want to find out more about your reputation? 👉 https://lnkd.in/eP_UVXKe   #CelebrityTraitors #MediaAnalysis #SocialListening #ReputationResearch #EchoResearch

Findings from Echo's UK reputation valuation report Read the full report here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e8hwETNH

🎓 “Research. Reputation. Results.” What drives successful communication today? As Professor Anne Gregory writes in her new piece for Echo, the timeless principles of research-led strategy and measurable impact remain the foundation of effective reputation building. Featuring insights from the 6th edition of Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns — and Echo’s role in global best practice with DP World. Read more 👇 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ey_GsXfr

Reputation is capital - and most companies aren’t measuring it! Echo Research’s latest valuation analysis of the S&P 500 reveals that reputation now accounts for over $13.8 trillion in shareholder value. On November 20th Echo Research will host an executive roundtable in New York to explore how leaders can unlock and defend this hidden source of corporate strength. Want to join the conversation? This event is by invitation only. If you're a senior executive or reputation leader interested in attending, please DM us directly or get in touch with the Echo Research team 👉 https://lnkd.in/eP_UVXKe Read the full USA Reputation Valuation report 👉 https://lnkd.in/gXKwKrae

Reputation is capital - and most companies aren’t measuring it! Echo Research’s latest valuation analysis of the S&P 500 reveals that reputation now accounts for over $13.8 trillion in shareholder value. On November 20th Echo Research will host an executive roundtable in New York to explore how leaders can unlock and defend this hidden source of corporate strength. Want to join the conversation? This event is by invitation only. If you're a senior executive or reputation leader interested in attending, please DM us directly or get in touch with the Echo Research team 👉 https://lnkd.in/eP_UVXKe Read the full USA Reputation Valuation report 👉 https://lnkd.in/gXKwKrae

A leader who proved the sceptics wrong, and did so with grace, grit and vision. As Dame Emma Walmsley bows out after nearly nine years at the helm of GSK, she leaves behind a company in robust health and a legacy of strategic clarity, courage and conviction. Refocusing GSK on its core biopharma strengths and rebuilding its innovation pipeline, she showed what determined leadership and true admiration looks like. Last year, the financial and business community voted Dame Emma the country's Most Admired Leader in Echo Research’s Britain’s Most Admired Companies Study in partnership with the London Stock Exchange - and rightly so. So as weekend papers note her remarkable exit ("Shot in the Arm" headlined The Times), the question turns to this year’s honours: Who will be the Most Admired in 2025? 🔗 Watch Dame Julia Hoggett in conversation with Dame Emma Walmsley here https://lnkd.in/dXxSupRW #Leadership #BritainsMostAdmiredCompanies #GSK #EchoResearch #WomenInLeadership

“Beloved” comedian and “ruthless” traitor Alan Carr takes the lead. Crowned "somehow both the best and the worst traitor of all time" - his reputation has saved him from banishment so far. Joe Marler sits in second place, with Celia Imrie’s murder in plain sight landing her third. How will it all unravel in the final…? Want to learn about your reputation 👉 https://lnkd.in/eP_UVXKe #CelebrityTraitors #MediaAnalysis #SocialListening #ReputationResearch