Five years ago, when Burson-Marsteller started tracking "Best of..." and "Top 100..." corporate scorecard features, the agency followed less than 100 rankings.

Today, Burson's executive positioning group specializes in pitching clients to more than 300 rankings - and not just in the US, but China, Germany, UK, and various other countries.

Carol Ballock, an MD in Burson's corporate practice, says that rather than zero in on a single survey, she often suggests that her clients approach the entire ...