Polish Opinion Leaders Trust Business More Than Government.

Only 11% of Polish opinion leaders trust government. This is the lowest percentage in all 18 surveyed countries. Polish respondents put the most trust in business (45%) and in NGOs (38%). These are the results of the ninth global Edelman Trust Barometer. For the second time, the survey has measured the level of trust of Polish opinion leaders in companies, institutions and media.

In 14 out of 18 surveyed countries, the level of trust in business is higher than trust in government. However, the difference between the credibility of business and government in Poland is exceptionally big. NGOs still enjoy relatively high support (38%) of Poles, though it has dropped since last year (49%).

“Business is realizing its broader dual mandate to make money and make an impact on major societal issues like the environment and human rights,” said Richard Edelman, President and CEO, Edelman. „Companies have moved from philanthropy to programs that are directly aimed at making money while doing good. In a recession, with attendant job cuts and need for outside capital, this type of approach will be especially important to guarantee business the license to operate.”

Polish opinion leaders usually search for information about companies and their products and services in traditional media. Newspaper articles, TV news items and business magazines are the most common sources of information for Poles. The trend is also visible in international results: business magazines are the most trusted source of information about companies (57%) „Trust in various forms of media communication is rising, because the very definition of media has been extended to include ‘new media’,” Said Barbara Kwiecień, General Manager, Edelman Polska.

The Edelman Trust Barometer 2008 results for Poland are as follows:

• Poland has the lowest level of trust in government among all surveyed countries (11%),
• Business is placed highest in the trust ranking in Poland (45%),
• Trust in a number of institutions has dropped significantly compared to last year: religious institutions: drop by 12%, NGOs: drop by 11%, media understood as business ventures: drop by 9%. On the other hand, trust in various forms of media communication has risen: press articles, articles in business magazines and radio news,
• The percentage of Polish opinion leaders who trust corporate communications (41%) is bigger than the percentage of opinion leaders who trust press articles (39%),
• Poles find radio news and corporate advertisements less credible than respondents in other countries; social networking sites are regarded as more credible in Poland than in any other surveyed country,
• Among all surveyed countries, Poles place the least trust in doctors and healthcare specialists (37%),
• Last year saw a significant rise in the credibility of government officials (35% vs. 44%), academics (33% vs. 63%), regular employees (33% vs. 44%) and financial analysts (39% vs. 73%),
• The three most trusted Polish media, which Polish opinion leaders refer to when looking for information about companies, are Gazeta Wyborcza, Rzeczpospolita and Polish TV. Among global media, Poles place the most trust in Google

Edelman Trust Barometer results have shown the following international trust tendencies:

• Business has a historic chance to become a leader:

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  • Business and NGOs tied as trust leaders on a global scale
  • Business has better results than government in fourteen out of eighteen surveyed countries

• Traditional media are still used and perceived as the most credible:

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  • New media are the strongest among the youngest opinion elites and in BRIC countries*

• “Person like me” and experts: doctors, academics and financial analysts are still the most credible source of information about a company
• Media which are globally considered to be the most credible source of information are: CNN, BBC and Google (25%, 17% and 9% respectively).

*BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China)

About Edelman Trust Barometer

The annual project tracks the attitudes of opinion leaders around the world – which institutions, companies and other sources of information they trust, what drives that trust, and the credibility of institutions.

This year, the survey was conducted in 18 countries. 3,100 respondents aged 35-64 were surveyed as follows: 400 in the United States, 300 in China and 150 each in Poland, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Sweden, Russia, Ireland, Brazil, Japan, South Korea and India

The survey was conducted by StrategyOne, a research company, through 30-minute telephone interviews in October and November, 2007.

About Edelman

Edelman is the largest independent public relations agency with 3,000 employees in 51 offices worldwide. Advertising Age rated Edelman among ten best marketing communications companies. Edelman is the first and only PR firm to receive this recognition. Advertising Age and PRWeek also awarded Richard Edelman, the company's CEO, the title Agency Executive of the Year 2007.

Edelman’s Polish office opened on June 1, 2005. Currently, Edelman Polska employs over 30 consultants, and provides comprehensive public relations services.