As the Australian Financial Review newspaper reported today, while it is the leader’s prerogative to call caucus together, ALP rules require that anyone wanting to call a special meeting to debate the leadership has to sign up one-third of the caucus support to do so. So, technically that means it is possible for a caucus meeting outside of the dates I have mentioned above (and on the parliamentary website for hardened political junkies). However re-calling members members to Canberra for such a meeting would leave the government open to attack over the expense tax-payers would have to pay. Wise heads might then say then that a special meeting outside of sitting times is unlikely.  Then again, how many of those are there calling the shots?

But of course being shortlisted is a long way from winning. So we’re all getting on with the business of our business and doing a terrible job of skirting around the issue at the water-cooler for fear of jinxing our chances.

In fact, so hilarious has the subversive no-speak policy become, that we’re toying with the idea of re-badging the awards Voldemort or Macbeth or something equally non-conformist and luck-testing in the hope that such irreverent humour will stop us thinking about it.

For some of our colleagues in Asia Pacific, a willingness to even consider the prospect of flying in the face of good omen is insane. But then it’s the Australian way, isn’t it – a tendency to buck the trend, say it as it is and get on with the task at hand rather than worry too much about what anyone else thinks.

Or at least that’s what we like to believe.

The fact is Australians are as superstitious as anyone, despite themselves. Our history is built on stories and beliefs passed from generation to generation. More-so, the ever-evolving cultural diversity of our nation has brought a richer tapestry of traditions and superstitions to our shores. And of course pavement-crack avoidance remains as popular a past-time on our city streets as does hopscotch in our junior schools.

So for all the collective unspoken thoughts across the agency that “what will be, will be”, I’m now waiting for someone to plonk a golden dragon on my desk with the assurance that it might improve our luck at the Campaign Awards given the location and its significance to Chinese culture in 2012.

And whilst I’ll chuckle at the ridiculous notion that at $5 trinket will secure our good fortune, I’ll also quietly ensure that it sits at right angles on my desk, adjacent to the window that over looks the courtyard so that it’s glow reflects gently across the office floor. After all, it would be wholly un-Australian to decline someone-else’s well-meant generosity.

Ian Rumsby, Chairman, Australia

Photo credit: besar bears

Julia Gillard made the program the watershed it will become.  All the other interviewees, save for the erudite back room master strategist, Bruce Hawker – and probably former ALP Minister Graham Richardson -  would not be known to the wider electorate.  They alone would not have made the program.

Political junkies like me have been spending weeks, if not months, working up scenarios about what might happen should Kevin Rudd re-take his job.  What are the numbers?  Who has jumped over?  Would there be a short circuit with a compromise candidate and if so, who might that be?  Defence minister Stephen Smith is often mentioned as the cleanskin – as far as the electorate is concerned – candidate.  However, he hails from WA.  The three hour time difference, I am often told, would make it difficult for him. Probably more of a problem is that Labor is very shaky in WA, which has a popular Liberal Premier.   Bill Shorten, the former AWU leader,  ruled himself out last week when he said on Melbourne radio that he ‘never ever’ wanted to lead the Labor Party.   That could be a sentence he regrets uttering  - as did the PM when she made her ‘no carbon tax from a Party I lead’ comment.  The hard working Mr Fixit of the government, Greg Combet has also been mentioned.  However, some mumble that he is more unpopular in the government than Mr Rudd was.

What this means for business is inertia.  If Ms Gillard maintains her leadership, the  frenzied focus on bringing the government back to surplus will remain.  A fiscal climate, the tightest many Canberra operators in the higher levels of bureaucracy have seen, will mean minimal spending.  Curiously, any spending that is contemplated will have to be signed off by cabinet – a rigourous process that will involve reviews and scrutiny from the Department of Finance.  (That of course becomes an expensive exercise, but as budget watchers know, it comes from a different pile.)

Will a change of leader mean an early election?  Many doubt it.  The only person to benefit from that is Tony Abbott.  Those backbenchers who claim they will resign in this event may be persuaded that it is not in their – or the Party’s interest – to do so.  The Independents surely don’t want an early election as the polls suggest it will mean joining the job queues.  Surely a new leader, who ever that might be, will want to stay in the office for as long as possible, if only to put things right? Or less wrong.

Rather than be flummoxed by this chaos, business needs to ensure it has good relations with both sides of politics.  Remember that Mr Abbott has said that his current front bench will look much the same should he win government.  Particularly important is making sure your relationships with the bureaucracy are sound.  Whether a government is chaotic, stunned into inertia or simply new in the role, it is the bureaucracy who will be called upon to ensure the wheels of the economy keep turning.

Jacquelynne Willcox, Head of Public Affairs

Photo Credit: jk 1971

For the press release and further detail please see: Seven out of ten consumers avoid products if they dislike parent company.

Dr Hill is a clinical pharmacologist  and former associate professor at the University of Newcastle.  She has spent the last six years with the World Health Organisation in Europe, where she noted the many meetings and reports had – by necessity – to be held in numerous languages and across multiple jurisdictions.  Having successfully traversed those barriers and even the extensive bureaucracy of the Geneva-based organisation, Dr Hill laughed that she was not at all daunted by her new role with a Committee that often has industry heads shaking at its increasing complexity.

Dr Hill took up her position with the PBAC in September last year and while she has been meeting with industry groups ( Medicines Australia , the AMA and the Pharmacy Guild) over the past few months, her guest role at Weber Shandwick’s luncheon provided the first opportunity to meet company representatives and share her vision.   It was apparent that Dr Hill wanted to continue to hear from the industry about ways to improve the functioning of the PBS; she asked many questions and took notes.

Guests noted that Dr Hill takes over the Chair from pharmaceutical legend Professor Lloyd Sansom, who ensured the influential committee became more open and transparent in its dealings with the industry and consumers.  Dr Hill agreed and said that the PBAC’s obvious transparency – including detailing its reasons for decisions – was one of the first things she noticed – and welcomed – on her return to Australia.  She said she would continue the policy of being accessible and accountable and had some ideas on how to build on that.   Dr Hill proved the point by handing out her mobile telephone number to guests urging them to call her (with the caveat that her current phone is notoriously unreliable but would soon be upgraded. “If you text me, she said,  “I will call you back.  It seems to work that way at the moment.”)

Head of Public Affairs and Senior Strategic Counsel, Jacquelynne Willcox

Photo credit: italintheheart

View report | View infographic

BEIJING, January 19, 2012 – A new global study commissioned by Weber Shandwick found that the company behind the brand is critical to consumer purchasing decisions.  Seventy per cent of consumers surveyed avoid buying products if they do not like the parent company. Executives agree — in fact, 87 per cent globally (and 96 per cent in China) say that “a strong corporate brand is just as important as strong product brands.”

The Company behind the Brand: In Reputation We Trust illustrates the challenging consumer landscape facing today’s marketing and communications executives. The research identifies six key insights revealing a world where consumers no longer just buy products based on their own merits but also shop by company reputation.

“Our research demonstrates that, for consumers, corporate and brand reputations are becoming increasingly inseparable. Consumers are now actively placing stock in the companies they trust, as they seek out products that are ethical, safe, and high-quality.” said Executive Vice President of Public Affairs, Asia Pacific, Alistair Nicholas.

The New Realities of Corporate Reputation

The importance of a company’s reputation matters more than ever and when unified with the reputation of its product brands creates one powerful “enterprise” brand. As Nicholas adds: “A strong corporate reputation is absolutely critical to tapping into the full value of any enterprise.”

Weber Shandwick’s research reveals six new realities on the interdependence of corporate and brand reputation:

1. Corporate brand is as important as the product brand(s). The leading reasons the vast majority of executives (87 per cent) believe that a strong corporate brand carries as much weight as strong product brands are their recognition that product brands benefit from the overall reputation of the company (65 per cent); and that people care about the companies behind the brands they buy (55  per cent). Executives in China and Brazil are even more likely to agree in the equal prominence of corporate and product brands (96 per cent and 93 per cent, respectively). \

2.  Corporate reputation provides product quality assurance. Products are the beneficiaries of strong corporate reputations. Over two-thirds of consumers report avoiding products made by companies they do not like and checking labels to see the identity of the parent company.

- Seven out of ten consumers avoid buying a product if they don’t like the company behind the product

- Nearly as many (67 per cent)  are increasingly checking product labels to see what company is behind the product

- 61 per cent get annoyed when they can’t tell what company is behind a product

- Over half (56 per cent) do research to learn about the companies that make what they buy

- Also over half (56 per cent) hesitate to buy products if they can’t tell who makes them

Consumers are exerting greater control over what brands they buy. In fact, when asked – on an open-ended basis – consumers often used the word “assurance” to describe the value of the company behind the brand. To many, a highly-regarded corporate reputation engenders good feelings about a company’s products and, importantly, provides assurance that the brands will be of high quality, ethically sourced and made responsibly.  As one consumer said, “It is the company you are financially supporting when you buy its product. We have too many choices to have to buy a product from a company we don’t like.”

3.  Any disconnect between corporate and product reputation triggers sharp consumer reaction. Over half of consumers (54 per cent) report being surprised to find out that a product or service they liked was made by a company they did not like. When asked what they do in response, most surprised consumers said they either stop purchasing the product (40 per cent); or search online to dig deeper into what other products are made by the company (34 per cent). Surprise about a product’s lineage does not usually work to the company’s benefit – surprised consumers are twice as likely to stop buying the product as they are to continue buying it.

4.  Products drive discussion, with reputation close behind. Wrong-doing overshadows right-doing. Consumers were asked what they talk about when they discuss companies. At the top of the list is products — nearly seven out of  10 consumers (69 per cent) say they frequently or regularly discuss how they feel about a product they bought. Also included among their top five talking points are customer service; how employees are treated; company scandals; or wrong-doing; and their feelings about the company as a whole (its reputation). More consumers report that they are  likely to discuss corporate scandals and wrong-doing (43 per cent) than corporate good deeds (37 per cent); environmental protections (31 per cent); and community services (29 per cent).

5.  Consumers shape reputation instantly. What sources of influence move consumers’ perceptions of companies? Not surprisingly, consumers say that word of mouth is the leading influence (88 per cent) when it comes to impacting opinions of companies. Also influential are online reviews (83 per cent) and online search results (81 per cent). Brazilian consumers rate more traditional sources about companies — news sources, awards and advertising — as significantly more important than consumers in the other three markets.

6.  Corporate reputation contributes to company market value. Most admired status carries more weight than financial earnings. Executives estimate that, on average, 60 per cent of their firms’ market value is attributable to its reputation. This high value explains why companies have ramped up their reputation-building activities, with the vast majority of executives (86 per cent) reporting that their companies increased their efforts to build reputation over the past few years.

For consumers and executives alike, the reputation of a company is perceived as more important than positive financial earnings. More than half of consumers say they are more confident in buying products from a company with a most admired standing than one with a positive share price forecast. Nearly six in 10 executives say they would rather see their companies in the news for a most admired standing than a positive share price forecast. The findings imply that both consumers and executives now recognize that reputation is long-lasting and enduring while financial performance can be cyclical and short-term.

Weber Shandwick’s research highlights how consumers want assurance that their well-earned dollars, yuan, pounds or reais are being spent on products produced by companies that share their values. They have higher expectations for the companies and the brands they like and will not hesitate to turn their backs when they are disappointed or led astray.

As Nicholas remarks, “Through our approach to creating one powerful enterprise brand voice, and with an ongoing stream of research such as this, we help companies build and protect corporate reputation, which has a directly positive impact on business results.”

For more information, please go to our infographic and executive summary. Additional reports on this topic will also be issued later in 2012 that provide insights on the contribution of CEO reputation and single- vs. multi-brand companies.

For additional information on our award-winning global services focused on building and safeguarding reputations and brands in an ever-changing transparent environment, please contact anicholas@webershandwick.com.

About the Study

The online research was conducted with KRC Research in October/November 2011 among 1,375 consumers and 575 senior executives in companies with annual revenues of $500 million or more.  Respondents were located in four key markets: two developed markets (U.S. and U.K.) and two emerging markets (China and Brazil).

About KRC Research

KRC Research is a full-service market research firm that specializes in the kind of research needed for effective communications—communications that reach, engage and persuade. A unit of the Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG), KRC Research offers the quality and custom service of a small firm along with the reach of a global organization.  For over 30 years, KRC Research has worked on behalf of corporations, governments, not-for-profits and the communications firms that represent them. Staffed with market research professionals from the worlds of political campaigns, consumer marketing, journalism and academia, we are flexible, practical, creative, knowledgeable and fast, combining sophisticated research tools with real-world communications experience. For more information, visit www.krcresearch.com.

Health will be lead by rising star and Member for Sydney Tanya Plibersek. Ms Plibersek is a young mother of three (youngest is a baby) who hails from the Left Faction. She is noted for her grace and diplomacy as well as passion for social justice. Tanya leaves her Social Inclusion and Housing portfolios. She will be joined by Mark Butler (from SA and convenor of the Left Faction) who adds to his Ageing portfolio with Mental Health and Social Inclusion and will also join cabinet. PM says this addition is to ensure health priorities are strengthened along with mental health and agedcare reform at the highest level of government. As well, Mr Butler will be tasked with ensuring social inclusion considerations are recognised across all portfolios.

Other key appointments include the promotion of Senator Mark Arbib (NSW Right Faction) to Assistant Treasurer and minister for Small Business. Soccer mad, he keeps his sport portfolio.

Climate Change Minister, Greg Combet (former ACTU supremo and qualified engineer) adds Industry and Innovation. Mr Combet is regarded as the Mr Fixit of government.

Another rising star, Bill Shorten (Victoria, Right Faction ex AWU) now has Employment and Workplace Relations. He has also been tasked with broadening the government’s thinking on workplace relations including the fair work act changes. He keeps financial services and superannuation.

Former Health Minister Nicola Roxon will be Australia’s first female Attorney General with a key priority to defend the government against the legal action by ‘big tobacco’ following her plain cigarette packaging laws.

Former Innovation Minister, Kim Carr (Left Faction, Victoria) is now minister for Manufacturing and Defence Materiel – with synergies across the portfolios.

Former Attorney General, the genial Robert McLelland (Right faction, NSW) now has emergency management and public and private housing – very apt since he has just bought a new house.

-

Head of Public Affairs and Senior Strategic Counsel, Jacquelynne Willcox

Photo credit: Dunechaser

Food Forward 2012 examines top food stories and emerging trends in Australian kitchens.  For more information contact the Consumer & Lifestyle team.

Sydney, Australia: South American flavour combinations, Thermomixing and sous vide are predicted to be some of the biggest upcoming food trends in Australia, according to Weber Shandwick’s inaugural food trend report, Food Forward 2012¹.

Food Forward 2012 reveals the sentiment about Australian food culture of more than 1,000 consumers and leading taste-makers from around the country including food editors, chefs, food bloggers and nutritionists.

From nominating the top food news story of the year, to culinary trends that will hit our shelves in the coming year, survey participants were asked to share their insights and predictions about the food culture of Australia. The top insights revealed trend clusters – commonalities between individual trends – which are predicted to shape the 2012 food culture of Australia. These are:

Gourmet Convenience

Innovative food products and quality foodstuffs are making gourmet-style meals more achievable than ever – and without the hassle.  By using semi-homemade culinary masterpieces, even the most time-pressed cooks can still be stars in their own kitchens.

Global Flavour Combinations

Home cooks will take a more borderless approach to food preparation in 2012.  Aussie kitchens will trend toward a cooking style that combines ethnic flavours and ingredients from around the world. In the coming year, global flavour pairings from the Americas and Korea, in particular, will explore unexpected combinations and unique regional cuisines.

Farm to Fork

Aussie consumers want to understand the journey food has taken, from the farm to their forks. Whether it’s a bunch of bananas or a hamburger, it is more important than ever to understand where food comes from, how it’s made and whether the flavour is natural or manufactured.

Culinary Crusading

From sustainable products to good purpose brand initiatives, food purchases are now based on more than just good taste. Activism is now expressed through food choices, and with this comes an expectation that brands or retailers are doing the most they can for the community.

As part of the survey, Australians were asked to choose the most significant food story of 2011, and nominated the impact of the milk wars between Woolworths and Coles as number one. Results revealed the following as the three biggest food-related stories of 2011:

 Milk will spill in supermarket war, The Australian, 26 January 2011

The impact of the milk wars between supermarket giants, Woolworths, Coles and Aldi, resulted in heightened concern about the impact of the price wars on local farmers, with one in four (26%) voting for this as the top food story of 2011.

McDonald’s loses Heart Foundation tick of approval, SMH, 21 September 2011

Coming in close second was the Heart Foundation’s decision to remove its Tick licensing program from various takeaway food outlets, including McDonald’s and Crust pizza. One in five (22%) Australians voted for this as the top story of 2011.

Earthquake reignites food security debate, ABC.net.au, 15 March 2011

Third place was given to concerns about global food security, following various natural disasters in Japan and Australia. One in six (16%) Australians voted for this as the top story of 2011.

Participating taste-makers were also asked to nominate emerging products, flavours and techniques that would find a place on the 2012 food trends list, which included:

1.  Thermomixer: A kitchen appliance that can chop, beat, mix, whip, grind, knead, mince, grate, juice, blend, heat, stir, steam and weigh food

2.  Pepe Saya Butter: Hand churned butter that separates the cream from the pasteurised cow’s milk

3.  Global Influences: Central and South American flavours such as cilantro or cumin, and Korean flavours such as soy bean or gochujang

4.  Bitter Greens: Greens including wasabi salad leaves, or kale leaves such as cavolo nero

5.  Sous Vide: French for “under vacuum”, sous vide is the method of cooking food that has been sealed in an airtight plastic bag in a water bath

Food Forward 2012 is a year-end food survey developed by Weber Shandwick, one of Australia’s leading public relations agencies. The report aims to challenge everyday thinking about the food culture of Australia and fuel further discussion between retailers, brands and consumers.

ENDS

For more information, contact:

Naomi Brooker
nbrooker@webershandwick.com

¹About the Survey

Weber Shandwick commissioned research company, Pure Profile, to survey a nationally representative sample of 1,003 Australian consumers, during the month of November, 2011. In addition, Weber Shandwick surveyed 33 food influencers who were given the option to remain confidential.

Excerpt from a guest post appearing in Forbes by Heidi Sinclair, President, Global Technology at Weber Shandwick.

We are living in the midst of a powerful technological revolution that dwarfs, yet builds on, everything that has come before. That makes predicting the big technologies for 2012 like tracking the progress of Formula One race cars: You know there will be breakaway winners as well as fantastic crashes. It is all about speed. Speed of change, speed to market and the speed that is now part of everything we do thanks to technology.

So off to the races.

Here my list of the top 10 technologies for next year:

1. 1. Tablets
2. 2. Interfaces
3. 3. Social
4. 4. Internet of things
5. 5. Apps
6. 6. Big data
7. 7. Analytics
8. 8. Storage
9. 9. Entertainment everywhere
10. 10. Cloud computing

For full details see the original article. For more information about Australia’s technology practice, contact Lisa Popplewell, GM and VP of Technology.

Photo credit: TimboDon

When you spend more hours a week at work than you do anywhere else (awake), it’s pretty important that your colleagues are easy to be with and well, mine are.  At Weber Shandwick, I’m surrounded by the most incredible group of creative, bright, bold talent in Sydney.  Each and every day I also have the pleasure of working “alongside” equally calibered colleagues across Asia Pacific, as well as New York, Chicago, London, Geneva and places in between.  It says something about a place when getting up at 2AM to speak to colleagues in 16 markets around the globe doesn’t put on the grumpy pants.  Without fail, my days are filled with connections and collaboration.  Here, we are all part of a new reality – a borderless reality – across the social, cultural and digital landscape.

Regardless of where they are, my colleagues inspire, push and solicit the best from me – and that’s not all.  They have some of the most brilliant ideas. Ever.

Our award roster is long (for good reason) but the everyday cutting room floor is pretty darn good, too.  I wish everyone knew what it was like to experience the multiplication of creativity and even better, to know what it’s like when boardroom brainstorms become successful realities.  It’s really something to have your socks knocked off and that’s a regular part of the @WSWau madness and wonder.  Our client partners are in on it, too and together, we get to do some pretty cool stuff.

Further to all of that, office culture has its own role on our team and it’s critical to our success.  It’s the thing that makes big ideas bigger, long days shorter and hard work worth it.  It’s the collective satisfaction when a cross-practice meeting produces the most incredible 360 thinking and it’s nearly tangible when a singular comment gains agency-wide laughter (read: hysterics).  You can hear it in the “How did it go?” the morning after a big event and see it in the media coverage after a great storytelling moment. Our people are the heart and soul of Weber Shandwick operations worldwide but they’re also mentors, best friends, cheerleaders, champions and at times, family.

I’m really proud to work at Weber Shandwick and even prouder to be part of the powerhouses behind the Australian operation.  Please don’t tell the boss but there are days when I can’t believe I’m paid to be here.

Heidi J Noble, VP, Head of Lifestyle

Photo credit: paul (dex)