By James Burnett
PR WeekFebruary 11, 2002
Addressing delegates at the World Economic Forum on February 2, Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman PR Worldwide, unveiled the results of a survey that seems to confirm what many of the business leaders in attendance may have already feared: that corporate America no longer enjoys a disproportionate share of the public's trust.
The second annual study, conducted by querying 850 opinion leaders in the US and Europe, found that Americans' faith in their government increased from 27% to 48% over the past year. But the confidence extended to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) grew as well, ticking up five percentage points to 41%. Both sectors now enjoy credibility roughly on a par with that of business, which earned a score of 44% - the same mark it received in the 2001 report. 'In the US, business has lost its preeminent position on the pyramid of influence,' Edelman told PRWeek. 'I'm not saying that they have to be friends, but smart companies will recognize that they have to at least reach out to NGOs.'
Given the surge in patriotism that followed last September's terrorist attacks, a marked improvement in government's trustworthiness rating was to be expected. Edelman expressed surprise, however, that Washington's gains did not come at the expense of NGOs. 'We thought those groups would lose traction because of September 11 or the recession,' he explained.
If the trends documented in the poll continue, US businesses may soon find themselves facing the same dynamics as their counterparts in Europe, where top corporations are afforded far less trust than the leading NGOs.
'I believe that CEOs have had a kind of single-minded desire to please Wall Street, and this survey indicates the error of their ways,' offered Edelman. 'The more Enrons, Global Crossings, and Tycos you have, the more that is going to be the case.'
Edelman also believes that the targets of future protest campaigns won't be limited to the consumer-oriented companies that were first singled out by the violent demonstrators at the 1999 World Trade Organization conference in Seattle.
'The initial wave of pressure went after Nike, McDonald's, and Starbucks,' he said. 'The next one will be against component makers and financial institutions.' Edelman cited the criticism directed at US investment banks for their backing of the controversial Three Gorges Dam in China as an example of the new model. 'The protesters know that if they can't get financing, they won't be able to build the dam,' he said.
KEY FINDINGS OF EDELMAN'S 2002 SURVEY OF US AND EUROPEAN OPINION LEADERS
While the faith Americans place in business has held steady, they trust government and NGOs more than they did last year
- 80% of those polled want business to partner with NGOs on tough issues
- In both the US and Europe, 'treating employees well' and 'honesty with the public' were rated the most important corporate attributes
- A significant gap emerged between respondents' expectations of social responsibility and what they feel corporations are actually delivering
- One third of Americans and half of all Europeans attempt to avoid brands boycotted by NGOs.
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