Brand reputation
Brand reputation is the collective view that customers, employees, investors, journalists and the public hold of a brand, formed from what it does, what it says and what others say about it.
Last updated September 28, 2026
Definition in brief
A reputation is built over time from experience and evidence: product quality, service, conduct in a crisis, treatment of employees, public statements and the coverage and commentary of others. It sits in other people's minds, so an organization influences it and does not own it. Reputation may differ by audience, since a company can be trusted by customers and distrusted by regulators.
Measuring and managing it
Organizations approach reputation through surveys, media and social monitoring, review analysis and stakeholder interviews. No single number captures it, and any score should be described with its method and date. See reputation management for the practice of monitoring and responding, and brand monitoring for how mentions are collected.
Increasingly, reputation also includes what AI assistants say when a user asks about a brand. The free AI Perceptions check samples answers from a subset of AI providers, and the AI Perceptions reports cover this in more depth. See also AI visibility.
Where to read more
PeakMetrics' article on the importance of corporate reputation covers the concept in depth, and reputation management examples shows how organizations have handled it. This entry stays with the definition.
See how these signals show up in your own coverage on the PeakMetrics platform or run the free AI Perceptions check. Back to the glossary.