Ipsos Update - September 2020

Concern about coronavirus has rebounded in many countries, according to our 27-nation What Worries the World survey. It is once again the top issue in Belgium, France and Germany while increased worry in Japan, Australia and Malaysia puts these countries at the top of the table. Meanwhile, six in 10 worldwide continue to think that things in their country are on the wrong track.

Political trust and competent crisis management are vital to controlling the spread of the pandemic. Our survey on political trust in Australia, Italy, the UK and the US sees the public evaluate their political leadership’s response to COVID-19, in which Australians award their Prime Minister Scott Morrison comparatively good ratings.

Our 25-country survey on attitudes to abortion finds seven in 10 worldwide think that abortion should be permitted. Agreement is highest in Sweden (88%), France (84%) and Great Britain (83%). Women and people with higher levels of education have higher levels of acceptance around abortion – especially in saying that it is a woman’s decision.

Our new white paper, Clean, Green and Affordable, looks at how product packaging today must find a balance between competing priorities: the newly acute emphasis on hygiene, sustainability in the time of climate emergency, and the need to deliver value during a recession.

The age-old research problem of cultural response bias can pose a problem in global research studies. We show how comparing results across countries be more reliable in Difference Doesn’t Mean Different, which provides new evidence and explanations.

Reputational resilience has come into sharp focus in 2020 as organisations have had to respond to the fallouts from the pandemic. Learning from this particular crisis, we look at how to build in resilience in order to protect corporate reputation in the future.

Russia TrendVision is our annual report on the state of the nation in Russia. Focusing on the public mood amid Coronavirus, we find that while Russians are among the most keen to return to ‘normal’, certain values and behaviours are shifting, with implications for brands.

In the run-up to November’s US election, Joe Biden currently holds the lead over President Trump and a majority approve of Biden’s choice of Kamala Harris as his VP. We review the latest in public opinion from our US team’s regular polling and analysis.