b-m global issues index

Global Issues Index

December 4, 2006

•  Burson-Marsteller’s Global Issues Index –  Identifies emerging issues –  Better connects business leader concern to those that affect the

general public –  Differentiates “media and political” issues from issues of day-to-day

concern to stakeholders –  Refocus resources on those areas that can help businesses establish

strongholds with customers, employees, influencers and the world at-large

•  Opinions expressed by almost 4,500 people in 9 countries about more than 150 issues in 9 categories

*Consumers only **Business Elites only 2

•  Burson-Marsteller and polling partner Penn, Schoen-Berland surveyed –  2,745 general public –  1,627 business elites

•  Public respondents were evenly split between men and women

•  Majority of public were between ages 18-44 with income levels below $75K (USD)

•  Two-thirds of business elite responders were men and under the age of 44 with almost half reporting income levels of $100K+ (USD)

•  Participating countries include: Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Sweden*, UK and US

•  Categories explored: –  Corporate Governance –  Demographics –  Energy –  Environment –  Food, Beverage & Nutrition –  Geopolitical –  Healthcare –  Privacy –  Technology

The Results

•  Current “World-focused” corporate initiatives primarily focused on: –  Education –  Energy –  Environment –  Healthcare in underdeveloped countries –  Disease research

•  “World-focused” initiatives tied very tightly to sustainability objectives, CSR objectives –  Little separation between business objectives and issues taken on by

corporations

•  Gaping areas of need = real opportunities

The public is concerned with healthcare, identity theft and food costs

1.  Healthcare costs

2.  Identity theft

3.  Cost of foods 4.  Alternative fuel sources

5.  Hackers

6.  New Automotive Technologies

7.  Healthcare Benefits

8.  Advanced Medical Care & Technology

9.  Clean Water

10.   Infectious Disease Treatments

69. Labor Issues in food/ alcohol industry

70. Radio emissions from electronics 70. Right Wing Politics

72. Food Safety on airplanes/ trains

73. Population Shrinkage

74. Emigration for jobs

75. Foreign Student Education 76. Left Wing Politics

77. Immigrant workers in food industry

78. Moving to avoid natural disasters

6

Top 10 Bottom 10

Globally, the most vulnerable care the most

Women, seniors and low income earners rate every issue category higher than their

counterparts

84% 77%

Ability to pay for healthcare or medications

85% 84%

75%

83%

Cost of foods

81% 76%

82%

Identity theft

women lower income general population

88% 83% 82% 75% 77% 75%

Alternative fuel sources

Ability to pay for healthcare or medications

Cost of foods

65+ Total Pop

Percentage Scale: 0-100

Business Leaders

1.  Cost of technology 2.  Affordability of technology to

remain competitive 3.  Hackers 4.  Cost of Energy 5.  Using technology to reach

customers 6.  Solutions to storing company

data 7.  Technology solutions to

improve workplace 8.  Technology solutions to

enhance reputation 9.  Appropriate employee behavior 10.   Increasing healthcare costs

Top 10

80.   Government legislation of underage drinking

81.   Rise of left wing politics 82. Labor issues in food/alcohol

industry 83. Retailers selling

environmentally friendly packaged foods

84. Rise of right wing politics 85. Mass organic food retailers 86. Restrictions on marketing

practices 87. Job losses due to immigrant

workers 88. Layoffs due to natural disaster 89. Immigrant workers in the food

industry

Bottom 10

11

Public Top 10 Business Top 10

12

1.  Healthcare costs

2.  Identity theft

3.  Cost of foods

4.  Alternative fuel sources

5.  Hackers

6.  New Automotive Technologies

7.  Healthcare Benefits

8.  Advanced Medical Care & Technology

9.  Clean Water

10.   Infectious Disease Treatments

1. Cost of technology

2. Affordability of technology to stay competitive

3. Hackers

4. Cost of Energy

5. Using technology to reach customers

6. Solutions to storing company data

7. Technology solutions to improve workplace

8. Technology solutions to enhance reputation

9. Appropriate employee behavior

10. Increasing healthcare costs

Industry Sector


55% 64% 58% 60% 62% 62% 60%

Hackers Breaking into Company Networks

56% 58% 51% 53%

Data Storage Solutions

Issue is #1 for industry

Affordability of Technology to Remain Competitive

57% 61% 56% 54% 60% 52%

56% 61% 62% 57% 50% 68%

56%

Cost of Technology

Percentage Scale: 0-100 Issue is #1 for industry


61% 58% 72%

57% 60% 63%

Construction/ Real Estate

Fashion/ Textile

Food/ Beverage

Manufacturing Media/ Publishing

Travel/ Tourism


Government regulations are most likely to be of concern to Healthcare/Pharmaceutical and Food/Beverage industries


61 58

Government passing healthcare costs to

employees

Government health and safety regulations

on food & alcohol

Healthcare/Pharma Food/Beverage


Regional differences exist amongst the public with the public in Latin American rating all issues with a higher degree of

concern

Asians are much less concerned about most issues

1. Cost of foods 2. Healthcare costs 3. New automotive technologies 4. Alternative fuel sources 5. Clean water 6. Hackers 7. Identity theft 8. Infectious disease treatments 9. Nutrition and ingredients in food 10. Terrorists control of public infrastructure

1. Identity theft 2. Healthcare costs 3. Cost of foods 4. Healthcare Benefits 5. Hackers 6. Alternative fuel sources 7. Aging population 8. Clean water 9. Nutrition and ingredients in food 10. Threats to food supply from terrorism

1. Healthcare costs 2. Advanced medical care & technology 3. Health Benefits 4. Cost of foods 5. Identity theft 6. New automotive technologies 7. Clean water 8. Hackers 9. Healthy lifestyle 10. Alternative fuel sources

1. Aging population 2. Healthcare costs 3. Personal videos/pictures posted online 4. Alternative fuel sources 5. New automotive technologies 6. Hackers 7. Healthy lifestyle 8. Health Benefits 9. Natural disaster preparedness 10. Identity theft

ASIA EUROPE

LATAM

USA

Global Importance (4 regions)

Healthcare costs Alternative fuel sources Hackers Identity theft


Cost of foods Health benefits Clean water New automotive technologies

Regional Importance (1 region)

Europe Infectious disease treatments Terrorist control of infrastructure

Asia Personal videos/pictures online Natural disaster preparedness

United States Threats to food supply from terrorism

Latin America Advanced medical care & technology

ASIA 69. Anti-Americanism 70. Competition for jobs 71. Job security 72. Right wing politics 73. Left wing politics 74. Labor issues in food/alcohol industry 75. Emigration 76. Immigrant workers in food industry 77. Foreign student education 78. Moving to avoid natural disaster

69. Labor issues in food/alcohol industry 70. Employers monitoring virtual community sites 71. Counterfeit medications 72. Economic expansion in emerging markets 73. Food safety on airplanes/trains 74. Foreign Student Education 75. Left Wing politics 76. Immigrant workers in food industry 77. Anti-Americanism 78. Moving to avoid natural disaster

EUROPE

69. Population shrinkage 70. Left wing politics 71. Economic expansion in emerging markets 72. Islamic fundamentalism 73. Moving to avoid natural disaster 74. Food safety on airplanes/trains 75. Foreign student education 76. Anti-Americanism 77. Right wing politics 78. Immigrant workers in food industry

LATAM 69. Availability/cost organic foods 70. Dominance of large food retailers 71. Food Safety on airplanes/ trains 72. Right wing politics 73. Immigrant workers in food industry 74. Employers monitoring virtual community sites 75. Emigration 76. Left Wing Politics 77. Mass organic food retailers 78. Population shrinkage

USA

Least important 4 regions

Left wing politics Immigrant workers in food industry

3 Regions

Moving to avoid natural disaster Food safety on airplanes/trains Foreign student education Anti-Americanism Right wing politics


Europe Counterfeit medications

Asia Competition for jobs Job security

United States Availability/cost organic foods Dominance of large food retailers Mass organic food retailers

Latin America Islamic fundamentalism

Business leaders also demonstrate regional

differences

1. Hackers 2. Costs of Energy/Impact Profit 3. Affordability of Technology to Stay Competitive 4. Storing Company Data 5. Technology to Reach Customers 6. Technology Solutions to Improve Workplace 7. Cost of Technology 8. Energy Conservation Technologies 9. Technology to Enhance Reputation 10. Maintaining a Competitive Edge

1. Healthcare Costs 2. Cost of Technology 3. Cost of Energy/Impact Profit 4. Hackers 5. Technology to Reach Customers 6. Affordability of Technology to Stay Competitive 7. Impact of Energy Costs 8. Storing Company Data 9. Appropriate Employee Behavior 10. Health Issues of Aging Workforce

1. Cost of Technology 2. Technology to Enhance Reputation 3. Affordability of Technology to Stay Competitive 4. Technology to Reach Customers 5. Technology Solutions to Improve Workplace 6. Cost of Energy/Impact Profit 7. Hackers 8. Appropriate Employee Behavior 9. Sustaining Innovation 10. Managing Impact of Brownouts/Power Outages

1. Appropriate Employee Behavior 2. Storing Company Data 3. Affordability of Technology to Stay Competitive 4. Cost of Energy/Impact Profit 5. Economic Expansion in Emerging Markets 6. Business Secrets on Internet 7. Technology Solutions to Improve Workplace 8. Inappropriate Internet Behavior 9. Hackers 10. Cost of Technology

ASIA EUROPE

LATAM USA


Affordability of technology to remain competitive Cost of energy/impact profit Hackers Cost of technology

Global Importance (3 Regions)

Storing company data Technology solutions to improve workplace Appropriate employee behavior Technology to reach customers


Europe Energy conservation technology Maintaining a competitive edge

Asia-Pacific Economic expansion in emerging markets Business secrets on internet Inappropriate internet behavior

United States Healthcare costs Impact of energy costs Health issues of aging workforce

Latin America Sustaining innovation Managing impact of brownouts/power outages

80. Mass Organic Food Retailers 81. Dominance of Large Food Retailers 82. Education System of Developing Nations 83. Labor Issues in Food/Beverage Industry 84. Job Losses to Immigrant Workers 85. Cost of Food 86. Layoffs Due to Natural Disaster 87. Right Wing Politics 88. Immigrant Workers in Food Industry 89. Left Wing Politics

ASIA

80. Retailers Selling Environmentally Friendly packaged foods

81. Layoffs Due to Rising Health Care Costs 82. Pharma Companies Protecting Intellectual

Property Rights 83. Taxes on Food/Alcohol 84. Anti-American Sentiments 85. Mass Organic Food Retailers 86. Labor Issues in Food/Beverage Industry 87. Left Wing Politics 88. Restrictions on Marketing Practices 89. Layoffs due to Natural Disaster

EUROPE

80. Mass Organic Food Retailers 81. Pharmaceutical Companies Protecting

Intellectual Property Rights 82. Job Losses to Immigrant Workers 83. Nuclear Power as Alternative Energy 84. US Military Dominance 85. Right Wing Politics 86. Immigrant Workers in Food Industry 87. Anti-American Sentiments 88. Nuclear Proliferation Treaties 89. Islamic Fundamentalism

LATAM

USA

80. Providing for Growing Populations 81. Conserving Energy while Packaging Food 82. Layoffs due to Natural Disaster 83. Dominance of Large Food Retailers 84. Food Labeling Requirements 85. Job Losses to Immigrants 86. Mass Organic Food Retailers 87. Labor issues in Food/Beverage Industry 88. Retailers Selling Environmentally Friendly

Packaged Foods 89. Restrictions on Marketing Practices

Business leaders can better align their investments to match public interest

…they are missing opportunities to communicate, provide services and grow!

The Public is Concerned with:

•  Identity theft (76%)

•  Ability for hackers to break into personal computers (74%)

•  Terrorists to use technology to gain control of our public infrastructure (66%)

•  Videos of consumers or their families being posted on the Internet w/o their knowledge (65%)

Business Leaders are Concerned with:

•  Ability for hackers to break into company computer systems (53%)

•  Improved solutions for backing up and storing company data (50%)

Public is Concerned with:

•  Ability of countries to provide clean water for citizens (70%)

•  Greenhouse gas effects on the environment (64%)


•  Costs of energy and impact on profit (53%)


•  Costs of energy and its impact on profit (53%)

•  Approaches to accommodate increased energy costs and their impact on employees (46%)

•  Identifying new technologies to conserve energy and preserve the environment (46%)

•  Increasing flexible work opportunities to reduce dependence on oil and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions from cars in the environment (41%)


•  Alternative fuel sources for homes and cars (75%)

•  Identifying new automotive technologies to conserve energy, reduce prices, reduce dependency on foreign energy, and preserve the environment (74%)


•  Increasing healthcare costs requiring the government or employers to pass on a greater share of the healthcare costs to employees (47%)

•  Health issues associated with an aging workforce (41%)


•  Affording healthcare and medicine (77%)

•  Health benefits (73%)

•  Access to advanced medical care and technology (70%)

•  Medicines to alleviate or prevent new diseases (64%)

So, what does this mean?

•  Big areas of opportunity –  Hunger/Cost of food –  Privacy/Identity protection –  Environment beyond sustainability –  Access to affordable healthcare –  Access to health-saving technologies

•  Gap between public and business elites can be closed through common solutions

–  Enhancing privacy protects one’s family and the same solutions can protect a businesses competitive edge

•  Businesses and individuals need to do more to influence national agendas

–  Government agendas are heavily dominated by security issues and war; not issues of greatest concern to the public and business

•  Media is not the only driver of issues awareness among the public

–  Personal experience –  Word-of-mouth –  Imagination

•  CSR can go beyond a company’s vertical

–  Technology solutions are not the only opportunity open to technology companies

–  Think about verticals that customers operate within and the publics care about

•  Deep dive into the research –  By business –  By industry –  By topic –  By region

•  Personalized “gap analysis” –  Where does your business focus

match-up with your publics’ concerns

•  “What We Say Today” Audit –  Evaluate current communications

to see how it resonates in light of stakeholder issues

–  Flex communications to let it better “fill the gap”

•  Strategic planning and counsel on critical issues

•  Ongoing monitoring of issues that you think are important

–  Is your focus in the right place?

•  Communicating your position on key issues of concern

–  Identifying the opportunities –  Identifying the critical stakeholders –  Shaping the message –  Delivering the message through

appropriate channels

•  Beyond PR/PA –  Training –  Recruitment –  Community engagement

Global Issues Index

b-m global issues index

Documents

cost of technology

labor issues

healthcare costs

emerging issues

political issues

technology solutions

business objectives

healthcare benefits