Edelman Releases Sobering 2015 Trust Barometer
The 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer was recently released and it exposes the general population’s rapidly eroding trust in government, business, media and NGOs across the globe – comparable to that of the Great Recession in 2009. The yearly study, which also takes a close look at trust and its link to innovation, shows that trust levels in 2014 dipped below 50 percent in half of the countries surveyed, including the U.S., U.K., Germany and Japan.
“There has been a startling decrease in trust across all institutions driven by the unpredictable and unimaginable events of 2014,” said Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman. “The spread of Ebola in West Africa; the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, plus two subsequent air disasters; the arrests of top Chinese government officials; the foreign exchange rate rigging by six global banks; and numerous data breaches, most recently at Sony Pictures by a sovereign nation, have shaken confidence.”
Already testing the public’s trust and confidence in early 2015:
- The NFL reaching new lows in public perception amidst the “Deflategate” scandal that follows closely on the heels of domestic violence controversies. According to YouGov’s Brand Index, public perception of the NFL brand is half of what it was last year at this time. The diminished level of public confidence and trust has been driven primarily by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s failure to address the issues in a timely and forthcoming manner.
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences coming under fire for a glaring lack of diversity – the Academy’s membership is an almost-all-white, predominately-male, borderline-senior-citizen group of voters. The recent controversy stems from the organization’s failure to recognize and nominate “Selma” – the historical drama charting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s protest marches in 1965 Alabama – for awards in the four major acting categories. This will be the first time in 20 years that the group does not include any minority nominees.
All of the above begs the question: how is your organization, business or brand prepared to deal with declining levels of trust?
Do you have a plan in place to build trust with customers, consumers and key stakeholders?
Do tell – we trust you.
