New Study Reveals Consumers Expect Businesses To Solve Global Problems

NEW YORK, Jan. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Transparency, sustainability, and a purpose beyond profit are more than popular catchphrases. They're now bottom-line expectations for how larger businesses and brands are expected to operate, according to new research by global marketing and communications firm Havas Worldwide.

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The latest issue of Prosumer Report, "Project Superbrand: 10 Truths Reshaping the Corporate World," seeks to understand how the corporate social responsibility movement has evolved over the past decade since Havas Worldwide's study on The Future of the Corporate Brand in 2007. Findings include:

• Your Oompa Loompas Are Going Viral: Forget trying to keep corporate secrets under wraps. A majority of survey respondents—including 7 in 10 leading-edge Prosumers—say they make it a point to find out about the companies that provide the products and services they buy.
  

• Heroes Wanted: Two-thirds of the global sample agree that businesses actually bear as much responsibility as governments for driving positive social change, and 62 percent say they'd like their favorite brands to play a bigger role in solving social problems.
  

• Clear Values Are Invaluable: More than three-quarters of Prosumers say they prefer to buy from companies that share their personal values, and two-thirds of the global sample say a clear set of values helps companies be more profitable.

"Doing something good for society is no longer a nice-to-have for larger companies," said global CEO of Havas Worldwide and Havas Creative Group, Andrew Benett. "In order to reach 'superbrand' status, you must have a strong, clearly communicated social purpose."

"Project Superbrand: 10 Truths Reshaping the Corporate World" draws on findings from an online survey of 10,131 people aged 18+ in 28 markets: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The survey was created by Havas Worldwide and fielded by Market Probe International.

Prosumer Reports is a series of thought leadership publications by Havas Worldwide—part of a global initiative to share information and insights, including proprietary research, across its network of agencies and client companies. For more information, or to download the latest white paper, please visit: http://bit.ly/Suprbrnd.

About Havas Worldwide

Havas Worldwide is a leading integrated marketing communications agency and was the first to be named Global Agency of the Year by both Advertising Age and Campaign in the same year. The Havas Worldwide network is made up of 11,000 employees in 316 offices in 120 cities and 75 countries, and provides advertising, marketing, corporate communications, and digital and social media solutions to some of the largest global brands. Headquartered in New York, Havas Worldwide is the largest unit of the Havas group, a world leader in communications (Euronext Paris SA: HAV.PA).

Contact:
Yvonne Bond
Global Head of Communications & Network Initiatives
Havas Worldwide
(212) 886-2035
[email protected]

SOURCE Havas Worldwide