Simplified Understanding April 2014 ASSOCIATION AND AWARENESS
PERCEPTION STUDY
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Western focus we eat, breath, sleep and live the west and know
the market, the brands and the consumers Senior level team
credibility in the market, broad range and depth of research
expertise and specific experience Insights West: A Brief
Introduction Progressive, full-service market research company
offering insights-driven research solutions and interpretative
analysis through leading-edge tools, normative databases and senior
level expertise. 2
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Insights West: A Brief Introduction (cont.) 3 Tools and
normative databases: proven approaches and context for your results
Great value: lower costs for very high calibre work Strong
Partnerships: allows us to conduct national and international
studies easily Technology enabled: mobile engaged panel and
expertise with social media, digital and online Strong industry
expertise: across a variety of sectors Size : small enough to be
nimble, flexible and innovative but big enough to handle large,
complex projects Our own consumer panel: over 13,000 in BC and AB
and growing
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Some of Our Tools 4 Brand Digital Insights Brand reputation, ad
tracking and digital reputation together in one tool Creative Test
Insights Quantitative, reliable measurement of effectiveness of
creative against a normative database Video Insights Adds
qualitative insights to online surveys through use of video
captured by panellists Employee Satisfaction Insights
Straightforward and insightful tool for measuring employee
satisfaction against regional and national benchmarks
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God Angels Heaven UFOs do exist Ghosts Cure for Cancer has been
found but is being withheld Satan John F. Kennedy assassination
Death of Princess Diana was an assassination Human being has been
cloned 9/11 US government conspiracy Lottery is rigged Lunar
landings were a hoax Dinosaurs never existed Base: British Columbia
Adults (n=867) Q. How much do you, personally, believe or
disbelieve each of the following conspiracy theories that some
people believe? What People Say and Believe is Quite Amazing 5
Believe completelyBelieve somewhat
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Top 10 Findings 6 1)Awareness/Familiarity of IABC is low: only
half of business leaders are aware of IABC, and familiarity is even
lower. 6)That being said, 53% of marketing decision- makers feel
there is some value that IABC brings. 2)However, other more
well-known, organizations (BCAMA,CPRS, SME,AIM, etc.) also struggle
with the same issues. 7)Decision-makers divided on value of
professional communicators overall, and the value of the
designation. 3)Overall ratings of IABC among those familiar are
about the same as other organizations that struggle with low
familiarity. 8)Although perceptions are tough to gauge, IABC is
seen to be professional, intelligent, honest and in-touch, but also
seen as boring, exclusive, and not too inspiring. 4)Familiarity of
the ABC designation among marketing decision-makers is strikingly
low- 48% never heard of, and a further 27% not at all familiar.
9)When hiring, perception is that IABC membership doesnt matter.
5)Not surprising, value of designation seen as low as wellonly a
third as high as CMA/CPA/CGA. 10)All being said, marketing
functions are seen to be very importantwebsites, employee
communications, social media and advertising are tops.
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Simplified Understanding DETAILED FINDINGS
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Simplified Understanding Perception and Familiarity
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The Vancouver Board of Trade has the highest familiarity of the
professional associations. Professional Association Familiarity 9
Base: All respondents (n=200) A1. How aware and familiar are you
with each of the following professional organizations? Never Heard
Of The Vancouver Board of Trade 4% Your Local Chamber of Commerce
3% Certified General Accountants of British Columbia (CGA) 4%
Chartered Accountants of Canada (CA) 5% Chartered Professional
Accountants of Canada (CPA) 8% The Canadian Bar Association (CBA)
6% Certified Management Accountants of British Columbia (CMA) 12%
Sales & Marketing Executives (SME) 43% Very familiarSomewhat
familiarNot very familiarNot at all familiar FamiliarNot
Familiar
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Just over half of business leaders in BC are aware of IABC.
However, relatively few are familiar with what the association
does. Professional Association Familiarity (cont.) 10 Base: All
respondents (n=200) A1. How aware and familiar are you with each of
the following professional organizations? Never Heard Of BC Chapter
of the American Marketing Association (BCAMA) 46% Young Presidents
Organization (YPO) 42% Canadian Public Relations Society(CPRS) 44%
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) 46%
Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) 50% Association of Integrated
Marketers (AIM) 48% Canadian Business for Social Responsibility
(CBSR) 46% Board of Change 61% Very familiarSomewhat familiarNot
very familiarNot at all familiar FamiliarNot Familiar
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Almost one quarter of those familiar with IABC give the
association a good overall rating. However, there is a higher
percentage of those familiar who are unable to provide an overall
rating. Overall Perception of Professional Association 11 *Small
base size, interpret with caution; **Very small base size,
interpret with extreme caution. Base: All respondents familiar with
brand (n=varies) A2. How would you rate each of these professional
associations overall on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is poor, and 10
is excellent? Dont Know Top-3-Box (Excluding Dont Know) Certified
General Accountants of British Columbia (CGA) 30%62% The Vancouver
Board of Trade 21%65%** Chartered Accountants of Canada (CA)
31%73%** Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA) 35%72%
Your Local Chamber of Commerce 22%48% The Canadian Bar Association
(CBA) 37%57% Certified Management Accountants of British Columbia
(CMA) 31%58% Canadian Public Relations Society(CPRS) 41%59%
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) 38%35%**
10 Excellent98
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Though only about a quarter of those familiar give IABC a good
rating overall, IABC received similar ratings to other
communication associations such as the CPRS, BCAMA and AIM. Overall
Perception of Professional Association (cont.) 12 *Small base size,
interpret with caution; **Very small base size, interpret with
extreme caution. Base: All respondents familiar with brand
(n=varies) A2. How would you rate each of these professional
associations overall on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is poor, and 10
is excellent? Dont Know Top-3-Box (Excluding Dont Know) Young
Presidents Organization (YPO) 43%51%** Sales & Marketing
Executives (SME) 31%39%** BC Chapter of the American Marketing
Association (BCAMA) 36%37% Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) 48%44%**
Board of Change 59%37%** Association of Integrated Marketers (AIM)
46%16%* Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) 58%20%**
10 Excellent98
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There is relatively lower membership with IABC. Membership in
Professional Associations 13 Base: All respondents (n=200) A3. Are
you currently a paying member of any of the following associations?
Your Local Chamber of Commerce The Vancouver Board of Trade
Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA) Chartered
Accountants of Canada (CA) Canadian Public Relations Society(CPRS)
Certified General Accountants of British Columbia (CGA) BC Chapter
of the American Marketing Association (BCAMA) International
Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Entrepreneurs
Organization (EO) Board of Change None Yes
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And relatively few have participated in an event put on by
IABC. Professional Association Event Participation 14 Base: All
respondents (n=200) A4. In the past two years, have you
participated in any events (conferences, speeches, luncheons,
educational or networking events etc.) put on by any of the
following associations? Your Local Chamber of Commerce The
Vancouver Board of Trade Certified General Accountants of British
Columbia (CGA) Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA)
Chartered Accountants of Canada (CA) BC Chapter of the American
Marketing Association (BCAMA) Association of Integrated Marketers
(AIM) Canadian Public Relations Society(CPRS) Yes The Canadian Bar
Association (CBA) Certified Management Accountants of British
Columbia (CMA) Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) International
Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Sales & Marketing
Executives (SME) Board of Change Young Presidents Organization
(YPO) None
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Simplified Understanding Designation Perception and Familiarity
(Among Marketing Decision Makers)
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Just over half of marketing decisions makers are aware of the
ABC designation. However, less than one in ten are familiar with
it. Professional Designation Familiarity 16 Base: Marketing
Decision Makers (n=162) B1. How aware and familiar are you with
each of the following professional designations? Never Heard Of CA
Charted Accountant CGA Certified General Accountant 2% CPA Charted
Professional Accountant 2% LL.B. Bachelor of Laws degree 4% CMA
Certified Management Accountant 9% APR Accredited in Public
Relations 40% ABC Accredited Business Communicator 48% Professional
Certified Marketer TM 46% Very familiarSomewhat familiarNot very
familiarNot at all familiar FamiliarNot Familiar
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There is less value placed on having an ABC designation than
for accounting or law. Value of Professional Designations 17 Dont
Know CA Charted Accountant 6% LL.B. Bachelor of Laws degree 8% CGA
Certified General Accountant 7% CPA Charted Professional Accountant
7% CMA Certified Management Accountant 10% APR Accredited in Public
Relations 21% ABC Accredited Business Communicator 21% Professional
Certified Marketer TM 23% 10 Very valuable98 Base: Marketing
Decision Makers (n=162) B2. How would you rate the value of each of
these designations overall?
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Over half of decision makers believe it would be valuable to
have an association like IABC. IABC Importance and Value 18 Very
valuable Somewhat valuable Not very valuable Not at all valuable
Not applicable Base: Marketing Decision Makers (n=162) B4. Thinking
generally, how valuable do you think it is for professional
communicators to have an association like the International
Association of Business Communicators (IABC) that they can belong
to? Base: Marketing Decision Makers (n=162) B3. Thinking about
professional communicators in general, how important are they to
your organization ? Valuable 53% Not Valuable 16% Value of IABC
Very important Somewhat important Not very important Not at all
important Not applicable Important 34% Not Important 31% Importance
of Professional Communicators
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Hiring decision makers are split on whether a professional
designation is valuable for a candidate to have. Hiring
Professional Communicators 19 Base: Marketing Decision Makers
(n=162) B4. Please think about when you hire for individuals that
are communicators whether for an employee from your organization, a
contractor or a firm you are hiring that has team members that will
be acting as communicators in the work they do for you. How much
value do you place on a candidate/firm having the professional
designation for communicators Accredited Business Communicator
(ABC) Dont Know Hiring a contractor to work for your organization
17% Hiring a firm to work as a subcontractor 19% Hiring someone for
your organization 18% Very valuableSomewhat valuableNot very
valuableNot at all valuable ValuableNot Valuable
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Few have placed an ad with IABC due to low awareness and a lack
of need. IABC Importance and Value 20 Base: Marketing Decision
Makers (n=162) B5. Have you ever placed an ad with the IABC for a
communications/marketing job posting? B5b. Why did you not place an
ad with the IABC for a job posting? Please write your response in
the box below. Placed Ad with IABC Reason for not Placing Ad with
IABC I needed to find a place where communications people
specifically look for jobs. I needed to make sure the right target
audience saw my posting. I was looking to fill a "Communications
Manager" position.
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Among those familiar with IABC, intelligent, professional and
honest are the top attributes associated with IABC. Attributes
Associated with IABC 21 Base: Familiar with IABC (n=58)* *Small
base size, interpret with caution. B6. Below are a series of
contrasting attributes that could be used to describe an
organization. For each of the attributes, please choose a dot
closer towards the word that you believe best describes IABC. The
closer the dot is to the word, the more you believe it describes
IABC. IntelligentFoolish ProfessionalUnprofessional HonestDishonest
In touchOut of touch FriendlyIntimidating EfficientInefficient Down
to earthArrogant OpenSecretive FreshStagnant InspiringUninspiring
CompassionateUncaring InclusiveExclusive ExcitingBoring
StronglySomewhat Strongly
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Currently, many decision makers do not find it important to
hire communications professionals that are members of IABC.
IABC/Accreditation Importance and Value 22 Very important Somewhat
important Not very important Not at all important Not sure Base:
Marketing Decision Makers (n=162) B7. All things considered, how
important is it for you to hire communications professionals that
are members of the IABC? Base: Marketing Decision Makers (n=162)
B8. When choosing between two communications candidates of similar
experience, would professional certification/accreditation play a
role in your final decision? Value of IABC Definitely Probably
Probably not Definitely not Not sure Important 16% Not Important
58% Importance of Professional Communicators Part of Decision
Process 49% No Part of Decision Process 34%
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Nearly a quarter of decision makers say they would be more
likely to hire a candidate that is ISO certified in communications.
ISO Certification 23 Base: Marketing Decision Makers (n=162) B9. If
a communications professional was ISO certified in communications,
would you be more likely, just as likely, or less likely to hire
them over a professional who was not ISO certified in
communications?
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A strong website is deemed to be the most important marketing
communications activity within a company, followed by strong
employee communications. Importance of Marketing Communications 24
Base: All respondents (n=200) A5. On a 5 point scale where 5 means
very important and 1 means not important at all, how would you rate
the importance of the following marketing communications activities
within your company? Dont Know Website2% Employee communications4%
Social media2% Advertising2% Corporate communications4% Email
marketing2% Issues management4% Stakeholder relations10% Media
relations4% Brochures/printed materials1% Press releases4% Hiring
communications professionals7% 10 Very important98Not at all
important 123
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Top Implications/Recommendations 25 2)xxx 7)xxx 4)xxx 5)xxx
6)xxx 3)xxx 1)xxx