2010 Edelman Trust Barometer

Ireland Findings

The 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer is the firm’s 10th trust and credibility survey.

The survey was produced by Edelman’s research firm StrategyOne.

It was conducted via telephone with 4,875 opinion leaders from September 29th to December 6th, 2009 in 22 different countries across five continents

For more information on the Edelman Trust Barometer please call:

Edelman, Sarah Jane Smith on 01 678 9333

or to view past results, please visit www.edelman.com/trust.

Edelman Trust Barometer at a glance

Tenth annual study

4,875 people in 22 countries of which 1,800 in Europe

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 Select Countries: UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Poland and Russia (Each country N=200 aged 25-64)

4

The Edelman Trust Barometer over a decade

Rising Influence of NGOs2001

Fall of the celebrity CEO2002

Earned media more credible than advertising2003

U.S. companies in Europe suffer trust discount2004

Trust shifts from “authorities” to peers2005

“A person like me” emerges as credible spokesperson2006

Business more trusted than government and media2007

Young influencers have more trust in business2008

Business must partner with government to regain trust2009

Business performance and societal action critical to trust2010

Trust up but it’s fragile and different than before Trust now an essential line of business

• Global rise driven by a few countries; US, Italy, Spain, Netherlands but long road to full recovery

• Business returning to old habits

• France with Germany are still the most skeptical of business in Europe

• Trust, transparency as important to reputation as quality products

• A stakeholder, not a shareholder world

“The rally is being fueled by ‘the green shoots of recovery’ - signs

that ‘the worst is behind us in terms of retraction’.”

 

Ken Wattrest economist with BNP ParibasApril 2009

Trust is up (but not in Ireland)

In large European economies, trust in business up but lowIn Ireland, trust in business continues to plummet

7

Trust in BusinessInformed Publics ages 35-64

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 201030%

35%

40%

45%

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

44% 44%

48%

51%

48%49%

53%

58%

38%

51%

32%

41%

35%

40% 36%38%

34%36% 36%

39%

0.740000000000001

0.650000000000002

0.670000000000002

0.5

0.35

0.56

0.670000000000002

0.54

0.710000000000001

0.660000000000002

0.5

0.47

0.41

0.35

US UK/France/Germany India China Ireland

A9. [Business in general TRACKING] I am going to read you a list of institutions. For each one, please tell me how much you TRUST that institution to do what is right. Please use a nine-point scale where one means that you "DO NOT TRUST THEM AT ALL" and nine means that you "TRUST THEM A GREAT DEAL". (Top 4 Box, Trust) Informed publics ages 35-64 in the U.S., UK/France/Germany, India, China and Ireland

Enron, the dot-com bust and September 11

Worldwide Financial

Crisis

Optimists

Pragmatists

Skeptics

Italy US

Nether

lands

Spain

Ger

man

y

France UK

Poland

Irela

nd

Russia

China

India

Brazi

l

Japan

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

33%36%

60%

40%

34%30%

46%51%

38%

52%

62%

71%67%

63%59%

54%

75%

54%

40%36%

49%46%

31%

42%

62%67%

62%57%

2009 2010

Trust in Business – Globally

Big gains in a few Western countries drive rise in trust in business Ireland is exception to rise in business trust in EU;

8

A9. [Business in general TRACKING] I am going to read you a list of institutions. For each one, please tell me how much you TRUST that institution to do what is right. On a 9-point scale where one means that you “DO NOT TRUST THEM AT ALL” and nine means that you “TRUST THEM A GREAT DEAL, how much do you trust [INSERT] to do what is right? (Top 4 Box) Informed Publics ages 25-64

+18

+26+14

+15

-10

Trust in business, government in Ireland are significantly below the E.U. average

9

NGOs Business Government Media 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

57% 55%

49%46%

59%

50%

43%40%

50%

31%28%

33%

Global E.U. Ireland

Trust in institutions

A7-A10. I am going to read you a list of institutions. For each one, please tell me how much you TRUST that institution to do what is right. On a 9-point scale where one means that you “DO NOT TRUST THEM AT ALL” and nine means that you “TRUST THEM A GREAT DEAL, how much do you trust [INSERT] to do what is right? (Top 4 Box) Informed Publics ages 25-64 in 22 countries, the EU, and Ireland

U.S. Sweden France Germany Spain Italy Poland Netherlands UK Ireland Russia0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

30%

36%34%

36%

31%35%

30%

76%

40%

31%

48%46%

60%

43% 43%

36% 36%

31%

75%

38%

28%

38%

2009 2010

Trust in Government – EU Countries

In E.U. countries, trust in government lowest in Ireland Trust in government rose significantly in US, Sweden, France

10

A7. [Government in general TRACKING] I am going to read you a list of institutions. For each one, please tell me how much you TRUST that institution to do what is right. On a 9-point scale where one means that you “DO NOT TRUST THEM AT ALL” and nine means that you “TRUST THEM A GREAT DEAL, how much do you trust [INSERT] to do what is right? (Top 4 Box) Informed Publics ages 25-64 in the US and the EU

+16 - 10+9

+24

In a departure from most other E.U. countries, Ireland’s trust in all institutions continues to decline

11

Trust in institutions – IrelandInformed Publics ages 35-64

2007 2008 2009 201010%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

48%

59%

57%

48%50%

47%

41%

35%35% 35%

29%

37%43%

32%

NGOs Business Government Media

A7-A10. [TRACKING] I am going to read you a list of institutions. For each one, please tell me how much you TRUST that institution to do what is right. On a 9-point scale where one means that you “DO NOT TRUST THEM AT ALL” and nine means that you “TRUST THEM A GREAT DEAL, how much do you trust [INSERT] to do what is right? (Top 4 Box) Informed Publics ages 35-64 in Ireland

Across regions, influence of NGOs rises over time; Ireland NGOs falling

12

Trust in NGOsInformed Publics ages 35-64

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 201020%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

36%

58%

48%

53%

0.310000000000001

56%0.52

0.55

0.480.48

US UK/FR/GER China India Ireland

A10. [Non-government organizations TRACKING] I am going to read you a list of institutions. For each one, please tell me how much you TRUST that institution to do what is right. On a 9-point scale where one means that you “DO NOT TRUST THEM AT ALL” and nine means that you “TRUST THEM A GREAT DEAL, how much do you trust [INSERT] to do what is right? (Top 4 Box) Informed Publics ages 35-64 in US, UK/FR/GER, India , China and Ireland

Swed

en

Canad

a

Ger

man

yU.K

.

Nether

lands

France

U.S.

Italy

China

Russia

Irela

nd

Spain

Poland

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

72% 71% 71%68%

64%60%

51%

45%

27% 25%

53% 51%

33%

76% 76% 75%71% 69%

65%61%

50%

34%30%

Most Trusted National Identity for Companies – Globally2009 2010

U.S. surges as trusted site for global headquartersSweden, Germany, Canada remain most trusted

13

A13-25. [TRACKING] Now I would like to focus on global companies headquartered in specific countries. Please tell me how much you TRUST global companies headquartered in the following countries to do what is right. Use the same 9-point scale where one means that you "DO NOT TRUST THEM AT ALL" and nine means that you "TRUST THEM A GREAT DEAL". (Top 4 box) Informed Publics ages 25-64 in 20 countries

+10

+7

n/a n/a n/a

77% 56%

62% 40%

58% 36%

53% 53%

60% 41%

59% 44%

56% 41%

49% 40%

52% 39%

55% 41%

30% 23%

36% 30%

33% 35%Insurance

Media companies

Banks

Entertainment

CPG manufacturers

Pharmaceuticals

Food

Retail

Health care industry

Energy

Automotive

Biotech

Technology

44%

44%

48%

54%

57%

58%

60%

61%

62%

62%

64%

64%

80%

Technology remains most trusted industry sector globally

14

A26-38. Now I would like to focus on your trust in different industry sectors. Please tell me how much you TRUST businesses in each of the following industries to do what is right. Again, please use a nine-point scale where one means that you "DO NOT TRUST THEM AT ALL" and nine means that you "TRUST THEM A GREAT DEAL.” (Top 4 Box) Informed publics ages 35-64 in 22 countries, the EU, and Ireland

Ireland much less trusting of most industries

Significant at 95% confidence level

Nether-lands

Sweden Russia Spain Poland Italy France Ireland UK Germany0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

72%

57%

45% 45%

59%

29%

43%39%

41%

34%

47% 45%42%

34%31%

27% 27%23% 21%

17%

2007 2010

15

Trust in Banks – EU CountriesInformed Publics ages 35-64

A26-38. [TRACKING] Now I would like to focus on your trust in different industry sectors. Please tell me how much you TRUST businesses in each of the following industries to do what is right. Again, please use a nine-point scale where one means that you "DO NOT TRUST THEM AT ALL" and nine means that you "TRUST THEM A GREAT DEAL.” (Top 4 Box) Informed publics ages 35-64 in the EU

Since 2007, trust in banks fell in Ireland and most EU countries

- 20

- 25

- 28- 12

- 11- 16

- 16- 17

“Already, we’ve seen speculation that our industry will soon be back to

business as usual. Let me say clearly: there are lessons from this crisis that we cannot afford to ignore.”

Josef Ackermann, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Bank

Trust is fragile

US EU

Nether

lands

Ger

man

y

France

Poland

Swed

en UKIta

ly

Russia

Irela

nd

Spain

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

59%

68%

86%

78%74% 73%

67% 67%64% 62%

53%

45%

Expect return to “business as usual” after the recession

Only half in Ireland expect business and financial companies to return to old habits

17

C81. After the recession is over, do you expect for business and financial companies to return to “business as usual”? Informed Publics ages 25-64 in the US and in the EU

EU Countries

US EU

Russia

Irela

nd

Nether

lands

Swed

en UKIta

ly

Poland

Spain

France

Ger

man

y0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

76%

53%

77%72%

69% 67%

58%54%

50% 49%

39%

20%

Believe government will have influence over banks and financial institutions

Most expect government to influence financial institutions in the futureIreland has more than 70% expecting government oversight

18

C82. How much influence, if any, do you believe government will have over banks and financial institutions in the future? (Read Scale, Select one) Informed Publics ages 25-64 in the US and in the EU

EU Countries

US UK/FR/

GER

BRIC Ireland0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

79%73%

70%66%

Reduce gap between senior executive and average worker pay

US UK/FR/

GER

BRIC Ireland0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

88%

77%71%

57%

Repay bailout or loan money to the gov-

ernment

US UK/FR/

GER

BRIC Ireland0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

89%

77% 75%

60%

Fire non-performing management teams

Short-term actions in economic crisis restore trust in businessNow what?

19

B73-75. How effective would the following actions be in restoring trust in a company? Please use a 9-point scale where one means “NOT AT ALL EFFECTIVE” and nine means “EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE”. The first one is [INSERT FIRST]. How effective is this action to restoring trust in a company on a 9-point scale where one means “not at all effective” and nine means “extremely effective”? (Top 4 box) Informed Publics ages 25-64

“…one of the most important ways to rebuild the system

stronger than before is to rebuild trust stronger than before—and you do not have to wait

for a new law to do that.” 

President Barack Obama, speech to financial community, Federal Hall,

New York. September 2009

Trust is different now

Corporate reputation based on trust and transparency as much as quality

21

B63.-72. How important are each of the following factors to the overall reputation of the company? Please use a nine-point scale where one means that factor is “not at all important” and nine means it is “extremely important” to overall reputation. (Top 2 Box, Very/ Extremely Important) Informed Publics ages 25-64 in 22 countries, the EU, and Ireland

Delivers consistent financial returns to investors

Has highly-regarded and widely admired top leadership

Is an innovator of new products, services or ideas

Is a good corporate citizen

Prices its brands fairly and competitively

Communicates frequently and honestly on the state of its business

Treats employees well

Is a company I can trust

Has transparent and honest business practices

Offers high quality products or services

38%

39%

45%

50%

52%

58%

63%

66%

67%

68%

Significant at 95% confidence level

63% 42%

64% 39%

63% 43%

62% 35%

54% 38%

51% 26%

46% 28%

40% 24%

30% 24%

26% 20%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

43% 42%39%

24%

20%

IRELAND

Trust, transparency, and high quality products among top reputation drivers; leadership, financial least

22

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

66%63%

59%

24%21%

UK / FR / GER

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%82% 80% 79%

45% 45%

US

B63.-72. How important are each of the following factors to the overall reputation of the company? Please use a nine-point scale where one means that factor is “not at all important” and nine means it is “extremely important” to overall reputation. (Top 2 Box, Very/ Extremely Important) Informed Publics ages 25-64

Company Reputation Factors

A stakeholder, not a shareholder, world

23

D83. When a CEO makes business decisions for his or her company, which stakeholder SHOULD BE most important to a CEO’s business decisions? Informed Publics ages 25-64 in 22 countries and in the EU and Ireland

Government1%

Employees5%

In-vestors

/ Share-holders12%

Society at Large10%

Cus-tomer

s 7%

All stake-hold-

ers are equally im-

portant64%

Which stakeholder should be most important to a CEO’s business decisions?

Government1% Employees

8%

In-vestor

s/ Sharehold-ers11%

Society at Large13%

Cus-tomer

s 16%

All stake-hold-

ers are equally impor-

tant50%

EU Countries Ireland

EU Sweden Italy UK Netherlands Poland Ireland France Germany Russia Spain0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

73%

82% 82%

76%73%

71% 70% 70% 70%66%

62%

More likely to trust a company that partners with a NGO to battle global issues

Corporate partnerships with NGOs build trust

24

C80. Would you be more or less likely to trust a company that partners with NGOs to battle global issues such as climate change, alleviating poverty or curing diseases, than you would be to trust a company that works alone? (Net More Likely: Much More + A Little More) Informed Publics ages 25-64 in the EU

EU Countries

Traditio

nal

Co

rpo

rateD

igital

Globally, expertise still drives credibility of information sources

25

E84-97. Now I’m going to read you a list of places where you might get information about a company. Please tell me how credible you believe each one of them is as a source of information about the company—is it extremely credible, very credible, somewhat credible, or not credible at all? (Top 2 box, very + extremely credible) Informed Publics ages 25-64 in 22 countries, the EU, and Ireland

Significant at 95% confidence level

Blogs

Social networking sites (such as Myspace or Facebook)

Free content sources such as Wikipedia or web portals

Online search engines e.g. Google news, YouTube

Corporate or product advertising

Corporate communications such as press releases, reports, and emails

A company's own Web site

Conversations with company employees

Conversations with your friends and peers

Articles in newspapers

Television news coverage

News coverage on the radio

Articles in business magazines

Stock or industry analyst reports

18%

19%

31%

36%

19%

33%

33%

42%

37%

37%

38%

40%

46%

50% 51% 45%

42% 41%

36% 41%

33% 35%

28% 35%

35% 42%

40% 46%

24% 33%

27% 26%

11% 26%

30% 34%

28% 31%

16% 30%

14% 24%

U.S. U.K./Fra/Ger

Ireland

43%

36%

57%

20%

31%33%

U.S. U.K./Fra/Ger

Ireland

47%45%

59%

27%

33%

41%

U.S. U.K./Fra/Ger

Ireland

46%

37%

55%

26%24%

31%

U.S. U.K./Fra/Ger

Ireland

45%42%

53%

25%28%

38%

Traditional news sources and conversations with friends, peersdrop in credibility

E84-97. [TRACKING] Now I’m going to read you a list of places where you might get information about a company. Please tell me how credible you believe each one of them is as a source of information about the company—is it extremely credible, very credible, somewhat credible, or not credible at all? (Top 2 Box) Informed Publics ages 35-64

TV news Radio news Newspapers Friends/peers

2008 2010

- 23

- 24- 20

- 12- 20 - 13

- 24- 20 - 14 - 15

26

- 18

With trust being down across the board, academics/experts and industry analysts lost most credibility as spokespeople in Ireland

27

F99-105. [TRACKING] Now I’m going to read you a list of people. In general, when forming an opinion of a company, if you heard information about a company from that person, how credible would the information be--extremely credible, very credible, somewhat credible, or not credible at all? (Top 2 Box: Very + Extremely Credible) Informed Publics ages 25-64 in Ireland

An academic or expert

NGO represen-tative

A financial or industry ana-

lyst

Person like yourself

Government official

CEO Regular employee

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

76%

51%

58%

50%

34%29%

37%

55%52%

47%

41%36%

33% 32%

2009 2010

Credible Spokespeople – Ireland

- 21

- 11

In key markets, CEOs recover trust in a yearTrend up or hold ground over time

28

Credible Spokespersons – CEOInformed Publics ages 35-64

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 201010%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

55%

14%

20%

25%

28%

22%23%

17%

26%

0.3320000000000010.3

0.208

0.29

0.330000000000001

0.29

0.21

0.27

47%

43%

39%

34%

44% 44%

51%

US EU Ireland China

F99-105. [TRACKING] Now I’m going to read you a list of people. In general, when forming an opinion of a company, if you heard information about a company from that person, how credible would the information be? (Top 2 Box) Informed Publics ages 35-64 in the US, the EU, Ireland, and China

+9

+7

Conclusions

• Trust is different now – earned from multiple sources

• Corporate reputation based on performance, role in society, transparency, not profit

• Shift from shareholder to stakeholder world

• Mandate and expectation for Government intervention

• Ireland again experienced profound decline in trust

For more information on the Edelman Trust Barometer please call:

Edelman, Sarah Jane Smith on 01 678 9333

or to view past results, please visit www.edelman.com/trust.

2010 Edelman Trust Barometer