Ireland

2009 Edelman Trust Barometer

2009 Edelman Trust Barometer at a glance

Tenth edition since 2001

4, 475 people in 20 countries on 5 continents

Ages 25 to 64

College-educated

In top 25% of household income per age group in each country

Report significant media consumption and engagement in business news and public policyEU Countries: UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Poland (N=1800 aged 25-64)

What a difference a year-and-a-half makes

January 19, 2009May 14, 2007

“Every financial system depends on trust...We are in a full-blown crisis because

investors and financial managers—the people who run banks, investment banks, hedge funds, insurance companies—have

lost that trust.”

– Robert J. Samuelson, Newsweek

The State of Trust

Richard S. Fuld Jr., former CEO, Lehman Brothers

1

Trust in Business, Media, and Government is half empty

5

Business

The Trust Divide – Emerging vs. Established Economies

Trust in business <50%

Trust in business >50%

In U.S., trust in business at lowest level, including post-Enron

8

Enron, the dot-com bust and September 11

77% of Americans trust business less today than they did a year ago

20 point drop

US joins Europe

Companies less trusted now than year ago

9

Ireland has highest - 83% out of 20 countries trusting business less

Companies headquartered in Sweden, Germany and Canada remain most trusted; companies in China and Russia trusted the least

10

In Ireland, trust in most industries remained steady

11

Government

Government fares no better

13

More in EU still trust business over government

14

Business more trusted Government more trusted

Ireland remains with the majority trusting business more than government

By 3:1 margin globally and 4:1 margin for Ireland, publics agree that government should impose stricter regulations

and greater control over business across all industries

15

Three Global Issues:Who Is Responsible for Causing and Solving?

Global Warming

Energy Costs

Financial Credit Crisis

Government and business share responsibility causing global issues

17

.

Energy Costs Financial Credit Crisis Global Warming

Government held most responsible for solving these issues

18

.

Reducing Energy Cost Financial Credit Crisis Global Warming

Business has lost the ability to lead unilaterallyMust partner with others to solve global issues

19

"I understand your disappointment, your anger. This situation is perfectly

unacceptable.”

- Daniel Bouton-former CEO of Société Générale

Who Can We Trust?Trust in Information Sources and Spokespeople Declines Across the Board

3

47%

40%

44%

38%

36%

34%

40%

27%

24%

26%

13%

35%

27%

16%

15%

19%

Expertise and peer conversations drives credibility of information sources

21

Trad

ition

alC

orp

orate

Dig

ital

Ireland trust in traditional information sources wanes

22

Ireland trust in corporate information channels low

23

Most trusted corporate information source is employees

CEO credibility hits new low globally

24

Spokesperson credibility remains mostly stable in IrelandAcademics or experts most credible

25

*asked as “an academic” in 2008

- 10

+20

Publics Need To Hear Information Regarding A Company Or Brand Multiple Times Through Multiple Channels &

Voices

26

61% 3-5 times total

Through personal action, trust has tangible benefits

27

Chose to buy their products/servicesRefused to buy their products/services

Recommended them to a friend or colleagueCriticized them to a friend or colleague

Paid a premium for their products/services

Bought sharesSold shares

Shared positive company opinions/experiences online

Shared negative company opinions/experiences online

+- Actions taken with trusted and distrusted companies

Public Engagement: a strategy for changing operations and communication

Shared Sacrifice

Continuous Conversation

Private Sector Diplomacy

Mutual Social Responsibility

What We Have Learned ~ Ireland

• Ireland has low trust in government (31%)

• Ireland has more trust in business (41%) compared to government (31%)

• Ireland has lower trust in the Healthcare Industry (41%) and Banks (23%)

• Perceived credibility of all traditional media sources except analyst reports declined over the past year

• Credibility of Academics (73%) and Financial or Industry Analysts (59%) as spokespeople high

• 83% trust companies less now than they did a year ago, the highest among all countries

• 76% agree that government should impose stricter regulations and greater control over business across all industries

• Ireland places more responsibility on government (88%) than the rest of the EU for causing the Financial Credit Crisis

A Ten Year Overview of Trust

The 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer is the firm’s tenth trust and credibility survey.

The survey was produced by Edelman’s research firm StrategyOne. The survey was consisted of a 30-minute telephone survey conducted in November – December 2008. This year, the survey sampled for the first time two different age groups concurrently

(25-34 and 35-64).

For more information on the Edelman Trust Barometer and to view past results, please visit www.edelman.com/trust.

2009 Edelman Trust Barometer