1. COMMUNICATIONS IN THE
AGE OF ENGAGEMENT:
from Public Relations
to Public Engagement
Robert Phillips
President & CEO, EMEA
Edelman
Madrid, November 6, 2012

2. THE AGE OF ENGAGEMENT
Tension Fragility Polarity Dis-trust
… and Technology
Three Macro Trends:
1. The deterioration of trust in traditional institutions
2. The dispersion of authority and the emergence of a new
pyramid of influence
3. The de-centralisation of power from traditional media to social
and hybrid sources

3. THE AGE OF ENGAGEMENT
DEEP DEEP
SCIENCE HUMANITY

4. COMMUNICATIONS IN
THE AGE OF ENGAGEMENT
PART ONE: Supporting Evidence
PART TWO: Codifying the New Reality
PART THREE: Engagement in Practice
PART FOUR: Discussion

5. PART ONE:
Supporting Evidence

6. 2012 EDELMAN
TRUST BAROMETER GENERAL INFORMED INFORMED
PUBLIC PUBLIC
25-64
PUBLIC
35-64
METHODOLOGY OVERVIEW
Twelfth annual study
Online survey in 25 countries
30,000+ respondents
1,000 general population respondents per country
Ages 18+
Oversample of informed publics*
500 respondents in U.S. and China & 200 in
all other countries
Ages 25-64
 (Trending data among Ages 35-64)
College-educated
In top 25% of household income per age group in
each country
Report significant media consumption and
engagement in business news and public policy
* This year Informed Publics were surveyed via online methodology instead of telephone

7. THE VITALITY OF TRUST
Trust protects reputation
good news or bad: trust filters what is believed
When a company When a company
is distrusted is trusted
57% believe
negative information
after hearing it
1-2 times 51%
believe
positive information
after hearing
it 1-2 times
15% believe positive 25%
information believe negative
after hearing it information after
1-2 times hearing it 1-2 times

8. THE DETERIORATION OF TRUST
Distrust is growing; nearly twice as many countries are now skeptics
yet, emerging economies remain the top trusters
2011 2012
GLOBAL 55 GLOBAL 51
Brazil 80 > China 76
UAE 78 UAE 68
Indonesia 74 Singapore 67
China 73 TRUSTERS
India 65
Netherlands 73 Indonesia 63
Mexico 69 Mexico 63
Singapore 67 Netherlands 61
Argentina 62 Canada 58
India 56 Italy 56
Italy 56 Argentina 54 NEUTRAL
Canada 55 Australia 53
South Korea 53 < Brazil 51
Sweden 52 Sweden 49
Japan 51 > U.S. 49
Australia 51 South Korea 44
Spain 51 > Poland 44
France 50 U.K. 41
Poland 49 Ireland 41 DISTRUSTERS
Germany 44 France 40
U.S. 42 Germany 39
U.K. 40 < Spain 37
Russia 40 < Japan 34
Ireland 39 Russia 32
Composite score is an average of a country’s trust in all four institutions. Informed Publics ages 25-64 in 20
country global total (excludes Argentina, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and UAE) and across 23 countries

9. THE DETERIORATION OF TRUST
Majority of countries now distrust government
TRUST IN GOVERNMENT
2011
Informed Public
2012
Informed Public
Trust Trust Steady Trust
88% 88%
85%
77% 78%
75% 75%
73%
64%
62% 61% 62% 62%
56%
53% 52% 54%
52% 52% 51%
50% 49%
50% 49%
44% 47%
43% 43% 43% 42% 42% 45% 43%
40% 39% 40%
38%
35% 35% 36%
33% 33% 33%
31% 31% 32%
28%
26%
25%
20% 20%
N/A N/A

10. THE DETERIORATION OF TRUST General
Business: from license to operate to license to lead Public
CURRENT TRUST BUILDING FUTURE TRUST
Attributes that correlate with current trust Most important attributes that build trust
1) Listens to customer needs and feedback
SOCIETAL ATTRIBUTES
MORE IMPORTANT TO
1) Delivers consistent financial returns BUILDING FUTURE 1) High quality products or services
TRUST
3) Treats employees well
2) Innovator of new products
4) Places customers ahead of profits
3) Ranks on a global list
4) Takes actions to address issue or crisis
3) Highly regarded top leadership 6) Has ethical business practices
7) Has transparent and open business
5) Partners with third parties
8) Communicates frequently and honestly
47% TRUST
BUSINESS
9) Works to protect/improve environment
10) Addresses society's needs
11) Positively impacts the local community
CURRENT TRUST
DRIVEN BY OPERATIONAL 12) Innovator of new products
ATTRIBUTES
13) Highly regarded, top leadership
Societal 14) Delivers consistent financial returns
Operational
15) Ranks on a global list
16) Partners with third parties

11. THE DISPERSION OF AUTHORITY
Credibility of CEOs and government officials plummet
Peers and regular employees see dramatic rise
2011 2012
Academic or expert 70% Academic or expert 68%
Technical expert in Technical expert in 66%
the company 64% the company
Financial or
industry analyst 53% A person like yourself 65% +22
CEO 50% Regular employee 50% +16 Greatest
increase
NGO representative 47% NGO representative 50% since 2004
Financial or
A person like yourself 43% industry analyst 46%
Biggest decline
Gov’t official or regulator 43% CEO 38% -12 in Barometer
history
Regular employee 34% Gov’t official or regulator 29% -14

12. THE REALITY OF
THE NEW MEDIA LANDSCAPE
HYBRID MEDIA
TRADITIONAL NICHE
MEDIA PUBLICATIONS
MAINSTREAM SITES &
OUTLETS PROFESSIONAL
TRADES BLOGS
OWNED
PROPERTIES SOCIAL
WEBSITES OUTPOSTS
INTRANETS MESSAGE BOARDS
PORTALS FORUMS
CORPORATE BLOGOSPHERE
BLOGS
APPS & MOBILE

13. PART TWO:
The Age of Engagement
Codifying the New Reality

14. CHANGE WILL NEVER BE THIS SLOW AGAIN
2009 2010 2011 2012

15. BONCHEK’S SIX SHIFTS
MEDIA:
from AUDIENCE to COMMUNITY
INDIVIDUALS:
from CONSUMER to CO-CREATOR
BRANDS:
from PUSH to PULL
ORGANISATIONS:
from HEIRARCHIES to NETWORKS
MARKETS:
from PRODUCTS to PLATFORMS
LEADERSHIP:
from CONTROL to EMPOWER

16. COMMUNICATIONS AND
THE EVOLUTION OF INFLUENCE
yesterday today
Social Advocists
PLATFORMS / AGGREGATION SITES
Employees
Citizen
Elite Consumers
COMMUNITIES
Elites
Mass
Mass
analogue social digital
authority empathy
my my
clover influence
network

17. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT:
THE EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
WHY PE? WHY NOW? HOW DO WE TALK
PE is how Edelman sees the The world is increasingly
ABOUT PE?
world of communications. complex. Authority and Communications today is as
consumer power continue much about what we do as
It’s the operating framework to disperse. Business needs what we say. It advances
within which we work. It to behave and the shared interests of
provides strategic guidance communicate differently. business and society in a
and defines measurable And change will never be finite, fast-fail world. It needs
outcomes. this slow again. to be open, honest and
frequent.
It is our belief that PE helps Edelman play in an
communications now has to evolving and competitive
expand to fit the mantra of landscape of digital ENGAGEMENT MUST BE
Public Engagement – we networks, media agencies, MEASURED IN OUTCOMES:
have to be able to ad agencies, CRM, research
understand and advise on firms and management Increased Trust
business strategy as well as consultancies. Deeper Communities
business communications.
Behaviour Change
Commercial Success
at heart, PE is:
bottom-up; social; transparent; values-led; rooted in action
PE ultimately gives businesses the License to Lead

18. SEVEN BEHAVIORS
UNDERSTAND that everyone can be an activist now
LISTEN to regular people
PARTICIPATE in the always-on conversation
CREATE and co-create likeable, shareable content
BUILD narratives to navigate the media clover
PRACTICE genuine transparency
RECOGNIZE that good business needs profit + purpose + engagement

19. SEVEN
human connectivity
Mathematics (and the algorithms
that drive search and social) are
TRENDS
shaping the networked world in
which we live - but it is real
people who provide the content
and shape the stories. Empathy
and humanity are key
citizens rising unseen possibilities
The dispersion of authority We still have no idea what
away from traditional power technological possibilities lie
structures will only increase in ahead and change is never
speed - and a new era of going to be this slow again
accountability to regular
people is the inevitable result
brand orbits & the death of push shared interests; finite capital
Smart companies and brands of Demography not democracy
the future recognise that may now be society’s greatest
pushing out messages will get challenge – and while human
them nowhere; creating resources are infinite,
‘gravitational orbits’ that allow planetary (and financial)
clusters of shared interests to resources are not. Shared
form and ‘pull’ audiences interest models will help
represents the engagement of business play a leading role in
the future developing solutions
the mobile tipping point from license to operate to
The future is mobile and the the licence to lead
next generation will be Businesses will move from
empowered like never before compliance culture to
leadership based on values. A
new social contract emerges
that recalibrates the relationship
between government, business
and civic society

20. PART THREE:
Engagement in Practice

21. CAN ENGAGEMENT HELP BUSINESS
BECOME A FORCE FOR SOCIETAL GOOD?
The example of WalMart says yes

22. CAN ENGAGEMENT HELP SHIFT BUSINESS
FROM ITS TRADITIONAL LICENSE TO
OPERATE TO A NEW LICENCE TO LEAD?
The example of Mars in China says yes

23. CAN ENGAGEMENT – LISTENING TO REGULAR
PEOPLE & CO-CREATING WITH THEM – HELP
DESIGN AND DEVELOP BETTER PRODUCTS?
The example of Adobe says yes

24. CAN ENGAGEMENT LEAD TO GREATER ‘WISDOM
FROM WITHIN’ – BOOSTING MORALE,
IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY & STRENGTHENING
WORKFORCE LOYALTY?
The example of Starbucks says yes

25. CAN ENGAGEMENT HELP BUSINESSES IDENTIFY
CHALLENGES ON WHICH THEY CAN LEAD…
ULTIMATELY RE-EARNING THE TRUST OF CITIZENS &
STRENGTHENING ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH SOCIETY?
The example of GE says yes

26. CAN ENGAGEMENT HARNESS THE POWER OF
EMPLOYEE ACTIVISM TO DRIVE SUSTAINABLE,
SOCIETAL CHANGE?
Increasingly, the evidence of the Unilever
Sustainable Living Plan says yes

27. PART FOUR:
Discussion

28. Robert Phillips
President & CEO, EMEA
Edelman
robert.phillips@edelman.com
@citizenrobert