The 2007 Edelman Australia Stakeholder Study:

Trust at the Crossroads in Australia

2

Our Starting Point

China Syndrome

Responsible Corporates?

Paradox of the Boom

3

Democratisation of Media

Election Year

The Accelerators

4

Relationship CapitalAccountability

Business Implications

Customers

Business

Investors

Employees

MediaTrade Bodies

Government

NGOs

Sphere of Cross Influence

5

Edelman Australia Stakeholder Study

Research Objectives-to examine and understand:

• Trust in Australian institutions and information sources

• The drivers of stakeholder opinions of corporations in Australia

• The drivers of responsible corporate behaviour / Corporate Social Responsibility in Australia

6

Edelman Australia’s Stakeholder Study

• Third Annual Quantitative Study for Australia

• Conducted by Harris Interactive

• 140 x 40 minute face to faceinterviews in Australia: Sydney and Melbourne

Six stakeholder groups:

• Government officials

• NGOs

• Institutional investors

• Media

• Senior business executives

• Up-scale consumers

The State of Trust

8

2521

1411

24

9

22

35

18

6

14

23

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

NGOs

Government

Media

Business

Australia 07 Australia 06 Australia 05

Base: 140

Trust in Institutions (Australia)

How much do you trust each of the following institutions to do what is right?

(Percentage equals top three box score for each institution)

9

0

30

15

5

20

10

35

0

25

5

18

45

20

510

30 30

202526

10

0

10

23

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

NGOs

Government

Media

Business

Govt Media Consumers NGO Snr Exec InvestorsBase: 140

Trust in Institutions by Stakeholder

(Australia)

How much do you trust each of the following institutions to do what is right?

(Percentage equals top three box score for each institution)

Sources and Channels

11

Trust in Media (Australia)

14 13 1523

39 10 12

4 10%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Media Overall

Foreign MSM*

Local MSM*

Web-Based M

edia

Bloggers

Australia 07 Australia 06

How much do you trust each of the following institutions to do what is right?

(Percentage equals top three box score for each institution)

*MSM= Mainstream MediaBase: 140

12

Media Trust (Australia)

What type of the following media do you turn to first for trustworthy information/news?

53 49

3429

812

610

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Newspaper Web-based

media

Radio Television

Australia 07 Australia 06

Base: 140

13

46

33

2219

17 1714 13 13 13

11 10 9 85

3

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Analyst Report

Association M

agazine

Word of M

outh

Corp's W

ebsite

Daily N

ewspaper

Trade Press

Regional Newspaper

Featured Speaker

Internet (

non corp)

Friends and peers

Attending C

orp Event

Regional TV

Radio

Local TV

Direct M

ail

Blogger Website

Australia 2007 Australia 2006

How trustworthy and believable do you feel certain communication vehicles are when passing information along about a corporation?

Trusted Communication Sources (Australia)

(Percentage equals top three box score for each channel)

Base: 140

14

“You have $100 to use to purchase information on a corporation. Allocate this on how you would spend it for the information. You must spend all $100.”

Researching Corporates (Australia)

56.5

19.4

13.7

6 4.4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

News and info

from corporate

website

News and info

from a friend

who worked

there

News and info

from local

newspaper

News and info

on a business

blog site

News and info

from local TV

Base: 140

15

Trust in Spokespeople (Australia)

How trustworthy and believable do you feel each person is when passing information along about a corporation?

(Percentage equals top three box score for each spokesperson)

3934 32

21 20 17

2

36

48

35

1622 19

6

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

AcademicCEO

Shareholder

Government

NGOMedia

Blogger

Australia 07 Australia 06

Base: 140

The Web & Blogs

17

Website Usage and Trust (Australia)

Which websites have you visited in the last year?

92 9185 82 80

76

37

28

97

3428 28

2429

48

24

3 20%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Int'l bro

wser website

s

Local corp

orate website

s

Local web-based news site

s

Local bro

wser website

s

Western prin

t/ electro

nic news sites

Local govt w

ebsites

Int'l corp

orate website

s

Business related blog site

s

Personal blog site

s

Visited last year Level of trust (8-10)

Base: 140

18

48

41 3833 32 30 30

2522

1815

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

% o

f re

sp

on

de

nts

he

ard

of

China

MalaysiaKorea

India

Indonesia

Regional total

Taiwan

Japan

Hong Kong

Singapore

Australia

Base: 1050

Usage of “Blogging” (Regional)

Have you ever done any “blogging” yourself, that is, written and posted news or information on a website?

Drivers of Business Reputation in

Australia

20

1%6%Global vs local company

14%8%Innovation

12%

15%

16%

16%

20%

21%

25%

26%

28%

29%

Aus 07

0%

16%

16%

18%

11%

27%

22%

27%

5%

14%

Aus 06

Environmental protection

Ethical/Integrity

Corporate image/Reputation

Corporate citizenship/Socially responsible

Active promotion/Advertising

Employee development/Employee benefits

Management/Leadership

High profit/Profitable

Good after-sale service/Good service

Brand/Product quality

Stand Out Characteristics of a corporation in Australia

What is the first thing you notice that makes companies stand out from the rest?

Standout Characteristics (Australia)

Base: 140

21

“Should Australian businesses do more to reduce the impact of climate change than they are doing today? ”

Opinion About Climate Change

92

5 3

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Yes No Don't know / can't say

Base: 140

22

“Would you pay more for products or services from a company that has a public commitment to reducing the impact of climate change?”

Opinion About Climate Change

79

19

2

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Yes No Don't know / can't say

Base: 140

Characteristics of ‘Good and

Responsible’ Corporations

24

37%

41%

75%

80%

73%

76%

92%

91%

Aus 06

51%

52%

77%

82%

84%

85%

92%

93%

Aus 07

Operate in an open an transparent fashion

Offers top quality products/services

Concerned about/active in doing something about community welfare

Makes products that really impress other people

Works hard at building relationship with core stakeholders

Communicates frequently and openly with employees

Stand behind its products/services when something goes wrong

Provides senior leadership that can be trusted

Characteristics of a Responsible Corporation in Australia

How important are the following characteristics for good and responsible corporations?

Good and Responsible (Australia)

Base: 140

NB: All 2007 totals have increased over 2006

Are Companies Measuring Up?

26

What degree do you believe different types of corporations live up to that characteristics?

(Percentage equals top three box score for each characteristic)

Responsible Corporation (Australia)

93

92

85

84

24

33

24

43

42

51

31

46

36

56

17

68

3

9

2

6

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Provide senior leadership that can be trusted

Stand behind its products/services when

something goes wrong

Operates in an open and transparent fashion

Offer top quality products/services

Expectation Western Corp Australian Corp Japanese Corp Chinese Corp

Base: 140

27

What degree do you believe different types of corporations live up to that characteristics?

(Percentage equals top three box score for each characteristic)

82

77

52

51

25

34

44

22

29

41

32

27

25

43

72

1

11

12

217

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Communicates frequently and openly with

employees

Works hard at building relationship with core

stakeholders

Makes products that really impress others

Concerned about/active in doing something

about community welfare

Expectation Western Corp Australian Corp Japanese Corp Chinese Corp

Responsible Corporation (Australia)

Base: 140

So, What Does This Mean?

29

The Edelman Reputation Pyramid

30

For Communication…

Pyramid of Authority vs. Sphere of Cross Influence

OLD MODEL

Mass

Audience

Experts

Customers

Business

Investors

Employees

MediaTrade Bodies

Government

NGOs

NEW MODEL

31

So, What Does This Mean?

� Understand stakeholder expectations

� Select the right mix of “media” and communication channels

� Engage in dialogue not monologue

32