The French and Germans distrust companies

Survey on public perception and credibility of companies in Germany and France

50% of Germans and 48% of the French do not trust the statements of companies. If it is, however, the company in which they work themselves, with 58% the Germans are giving more positive opinions than their neighbors with 47%. That is one of the results of a survey, according to Uwe Schmidt of the PR agency Industrie-Contact (IC), which was commissioned by the Agency initiative “L’Observatoire de l’Authenticité” for the third time. Generally chalked are lack of transparency and honesty. Among the ten most credible companies are, on both sides of the Rhine, German companies: Adidas, BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen.

For Stephan Billiet of French We Agency – a Public Relations Global Network partner agency of IC – which supports the initiative, it is “worrying that in France only 54% of the staff trust in their company’s communications department and that these figures with any survey of L’Observatoire de l’Authenticité confirm again. 65% of the Germans however trust in the communications department, even if they are critical of the company’s communications.”

Amazingly, a majority of the French (56%) consider the communication of German companies advisable, only 26% also regard this opinion to French companies. 40% of Germans trust the communication of German companies, only 20% of the French.

Both the majority of the French and the Germans denounces non-transparency, absence of honesty, trust and credibility. Public media as information transmitters, most notably radio, print and internet, are not less protected. Only 30% of French and 40% of Germans trust information about companies that are distributed over internal company channels.

German companies dominate the charts of credibility

The survey is a measure of the negative opinion of the two nations regarding corporate communications: 66% of the French and 69% of Germans do not trust a single company. Among the ten companies whose communication is rated as the most credible, German companies find themselves in both countries: BMW, Adidas, Mercedes and Volkswagen are mentioned in France – Adidas, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes in Germany.

Edouard Rencker, President of Makheia Group: “Corporate communications is the big loser. So far, distrust was specially attributed to politicians and the pres. Today also companies nourish the general feeling of manipulation. The buck entirely stops with communication: This is the signal for a revision of the strategic considerations, especially in the agencies.”

More information

Makheia Group: www.makheia.com
Survey (French): La-communication-des-entre-prises-au-crible-de-leurs-publics