1 Canadian and U.S. Public Opinion In the Face of Iraq Presented to PMRS – Ottawa Chapter April 24, 2003 Richard Bennett – Senior Consultant GPC Research
2 Introducing GPC International Fleishman-Hillard is GPC International’s parent company, located in St. Louis GPC Research is part of GPC International GPC Research is located in Ottawa and is a full service market research company 60 CATI station field center New focus group facility
3 Research Methodology Research is a result of a partnership between Wirthlin Worldwide and FH/GPC Trade Winds I and II National Quorum 1000 American adults were interviewed by phone March (War in Iraq underway) and April 9-12, 2003 (US enters Baghdad) Unique sample of respondents in each survey Results are projectable to the entire U.S. population within a ±3.1% margin of error at 95% confidence level
4 Aim and objectives Explore American attitudes towards international products and companies since the start of the war with Iraq Interest in and knowledge of war/terrorism Investment purchasing Changes in purchasing behaviour Awareness of foreign brands Foreign product substitution Support for International organizations Demographics
5 Key Highlights 1. Tuned-in and turned-on 2. Good old days are long gone 3. “Freedom Fries” are just the beginning 4. UN, NATO, persona non grata 5. In the end, it’s still about the Economy Unless indicated all charts are based on total sample
6 1.Tuned-In and Turned-On
7 Interest in the War in Iraq
8 Informed about the War in Iraq 43% are both “very interested” and “very well informed”
9 2.Good Old Days Are Long Gone
10 Military action and further acts of terrorism will lead to…
11 When will “things”get back to normal 62
12 Doing things differently due to concerns over terrorism Apr-03
13 Business and Personal travel postponed Apr-03
14 Americans are also avoiding Apr-03
15 3.“Freedom Fries” are just the beginning
16 Favouring products and companies from different countries Mar-03
17 Likelihood of trying a substitute product
18 Product substitution plays out – a little Apr-03
19 And the future holds…. Apr-03
20 Canadian brands affected (TOM) Asked of those who mentioned they substituted a product for one they previously bought (n=80) Apr-03
21 Products associated with Canada (SOM) Apr-03
22 Concern over boycotts hurting the US Apr-03 58
23 4.UN, NATO, persona non grata
24 Support for International Community Apr-03
25 Support for Economic Cooperation and Free Trade with… Apr-03
26 5.In the end, it’s still about the Economy
27 Investor confidence continues to decline 65 73
28 Investments also decline
29 Sentiments affect investment decisions Apr-03 55
30 Key Highlights 1. Americans are tuned-in and turned-on American consumers (esp. higher educated- higher income) are interested and informed about the war and terrorism and are fighting it on the home front 2. The good old days are long gone The war and terrorism has changed the way Americans think and act. They are traveling, investing and purchasing less and they say it may be a while before things are back to normal
31 Key Highlights 3. “Freedom Fries” are just the beginning The intention to substitute for French, German and Canadian products is real, the follow through has yet to happen but the resentment remains strong. Fortunately brand awareness of Canadian products is very weak 4. UN, NATO, persona non grata Support for International institutions and countries opposed to the war in Iraq is low 5. In the end, it’s still about the Economy Investor confidence is weakening, LT financial investments are in decline and where a company is from may affect an investors decision to invest
32 QUESTIONS
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