Trust Barometer 2008

I found interesting Edelman Trust Barometer 2008, which demonstrates trust and credibility of business, media, government and non-governmental organizations in Germany, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Russia, South Korea, France, UK, China, US, Japan and India. You will find the whole report here: http://www.princanada.com/wp-content/TrustBarometer08_FINAL.pdf

Canada
“Canadian opinion elites’ trust in business is on par with their trust in NGOs (both at 49%), the first time since 2005 that this has occurred. But with many Canadians uneasy about a continuing business trend – the takeover of local companies by global concerns – business has not yet achieved the “halo” long enjoyed by NGOs. The
unease may come in part from opinion elites’ pride in Canada’s position as a sophisticated business partner, rather than dominator.

Trust in media is at its highest level (48%) since the Trust Barometer began tracking it in 2005, and trust in traditional media sources and expert spokespeople increased significantly since last year. While the Internet and social media are highly used by the general population, their credibility and usage among opinion elites is relatively low compared to other countries. Younger opinion elites are more interested than their older counterparts in outlets like Wikipedia for reliable information about companies. But companies may want to look to traditional outlets first when trying to reach Canada’s opinion elites.”

Brazil and Mexico
“In Brazil and Mexico, the principal economic engines of Latin America, business is trusted for its tangible positive impact on life: its products, the local economic opportunities it provides through jobs, and the active role it plays in people’s daily lives. In some areas, it’s a larger role than that of the government, which is the least trusted institution in Mexico (49%) and Brazil (22%).

Companies headquartered in Mexico and Brazil are not widely trusted around the world. But in both countries, most non-national brands and companies enjoy high levels of trust. This provides global companies with the opportunity to establish themselves in two countries that are widely receptive to business.

Culturally, Brazil and Mexico share a more trusting “nature,” with overall higher trust scores than in the other countries surveyed. Given the two countries’ emphasis on the importance of family and personal relationships, “a person like me” retains high credibility as a source of information about companies, as Latin Americans give the highest ranking to conversations with friends and peers of all regions surveyed.”

– Johanna –