Edelman, the leading global communications-marketing firm, will on April 18th release the first ever East Africa results of its 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer.
The event, which is being done in partnership with Gina Din Group, will showcase research on credibility and trust conducted by Edelman in the region’s top economies including Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia.
The 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer is the firm’s 18th annual trust and credibility survey, which interviews 33,000 respondents in 28 markets. The predominant theme from the South Africa results was the erosion of trust in the key institutions of government, business, media and NGOs amongst the general population.
“The results of the Edelman Trust Barometer help us as communicators better consult our clients,” said Gina Din Group founder and CEO, Gina Din-Kariuki.
“Trust around the world is in crisis, and we look forward to leveraging the knowledge of how East Africans view and trust institutions to apply it to businesses we serve,” she added.
Edelman South Africa Managing Director Jordan Rittenberry said the results are a vital yardstick for investors and economic partners to fully understand how organisations in key markets are perceived by the general public.
“Edelman’s Trust Barometer is the benchmark for institutional credibility around the world. Without a frame of reference for how a public trusts business, or the knowledge of the tools to build trust, companies risk losing customers and revenue,” said Mr. Rittenberry.
“The growth of social media has led to proliferation of news sources which creates new challenges for all actors, including business and governments in the East African region as much as in other parts of the world,” said Lorna Irungu-Macharia Managing Director, Gina Din Group.
“It will be interesting to discuss this new reality and ways that leaders can mitigate negative effects, as well as build new platforms for value creation and engagement,” she added.