These Are America's 10 Most Respected Brands

• AARON TAUBE

Last year, brand consulting firm CoreBrand's list of America's 10 most respected brands featured a deadlock at the top between two bitter rivals.

Soda giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi tied for No. 1 after CoreBrand's survey respondents gave them identical favorability scores.

But this year, the tie has been broken, and Coca-Cola is back on top with Pepsi a close second.

Here's the complete list of the top 10 most respected brands, including newcomers IBM, Apple, and General Electric:

1. Coca-Cola
2. PepsiCo (Down 1 spot from last year)
3. Hershey
4. Bayer (Up 1 spot)
5. Johnson & Johnson (Up 1 spot)
6. Harley-Davidson (Down 2 spots)
7. IBM (Not on last year's list)
8. Apple (Not on last year's list)
9. Kellogg (Down two spots)
10. General Electric (Not on last year's list)

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.

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.

You can read CoreBrand's full report here.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-americas-most-respected-brands-2014-7#ixzz37Xmz7WcW