Introduction
By Jean-Marc Lech
Il n’y a pas d’experts muets, c’était l’antienne d’Ipsos il y a peu. Et aujourd’hui, il y a urgence : les clients veulent de l’expertise, de la réflexion, des initiatives, de l’engagement, des idées.
Alors oui, les experts doivent s’engager, et mieux encore : il est urgent de se faire écouter.
Dans un orchestre de jazz, ce sont les cuivres que l’on veut entendre, et pas seulement la plainte de la contrebasse.
« There are no silent experts » was the refrain of Ipsos until recently. But today, it is even more urgent: clients want expertise, insights, initiatives, commitment and ideas.
Experts have to commit themselves and more than that, it is urgent for them to be heard. In a jazz orchestra, we want to hear the brass and not only the protest of the bass.
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Darrell Bricker
Darrell Bricker is the Global CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, the social research and corporate reputation specialists.
Turning the Corner, or The Dead Cat Bounce?
While this report is called “Turning the Corner?,” there’s a wonderful English expression that could equally describe today’s increasing economic confidence –“the dead cat bounce.” What is a dead cat bounce? It’s when there’s a temporary recovery from a prolonged decline, after which the situation continues to decline.
Put another way, even a dead cat bounces if it is dropped from a great enough height.
So, has global economic confidence turned the corner, or is this a dead cat bounce? We’ll need at least one more wave of data before we can say for certain. But, it’s clear from our December wave that we’re seeing the first signs of overall improvement since October, 2007.
What the survey data also show is that whatever is going on, it’s not happening everywhere the same way. Some countries, like China, India, Brazil and Canada barely saw the economic disruption. While others, such as Russia and Spain, continue their tailspin.What this means is that understanding the recovery will require more than overall assessments of world opinion. Just as the disruption was unique at the local level, so too is the recovery.
Why is public opinion important to the economic recovery? The first reason is the most obvious – if the public is more confident about the economy, they’re more likely to increase their consumption. This could fuel the recovery, especially in the developed world. The second reason is less obvious, and it’s that public support represents the license for governments to operate. Without public support, governments eventually fall under the weight of popular discontent.
Given that many of the world’s leading governments are acting these days on the very edge of public tolerance, monitoring the potential for social and political disruption has never been more critical.
To help fill this important information need, Ipsos is more committed than ever to providing insight on the evolution of global public opinion. To this end, starting in March 2010, Global @dvisor will become a monthly survey and you can look forward to seeing a steady stream of data updates and topical analyses on public opinion issues in the G20 countries. Much of this information will also be released with our global media partner, Thomson Reuters.
February 26, 2010