Harris Survey: Microsoft's reputation far outweighs Apple's

Apple may be spending millions to denigrate Microsoft in its "I'm a Mac" ads, but a just-released Harris Interactive survey shows it may be wasting its money: Consumers have a far higher opinion of Microsoft than they do of Apple. And because of that, they're more willing to spend for Microsoft products.

The Harris Interactive survey rates the 60 most visible U.S. companies according to what consumers think of them. It ranked them based on their reputation in six different categories: Emotional Appeal, Products & Services, Social Responsibility, Vision & Leadership, Workplace Environment, and Financial Performance. It then compiled an overall reputation index for each company.

The results are crystal clear: Microsoft cleans Apple's clock. Microsoft was rated at tenth for overall reputation, while Apple was well down the list at number 19. Google was rated at number one.

Microsoft was in the top five companies in three categories: Financial Performance, Social Responsibility, and Vision & Leadership. It ranked number three in Financial Performance, number four in Social Responsibility, and number three in Vision & Leadership. Apple was in the top five only in Vision & Leadership, and there it trailed Microsoft, coming in at number five, to Microsoft's number three.

Why is this important? Harris Interactive concludes that "a strong statistical correlation exists between a company’s overall reputation and the likelihood that consumers will purchase, recommend or invest in a company or its products and services."

In other words, Apple's snarky TV campaign to the contrary, when people open their wallets and pocketbooks, they're happier doing it for Microsoft rather than Apple.

Click here for the press release about the survey. For a more in-depth look, with selective research, get this PDF.

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