Richard Edelman’s interview begins at 16:35.
This past week, Richard Edelman joined Axios CEO Jim VandeHei for a conversation on how brands can effectively lead during the current global pandemic and the need for business leaders to step up.
The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust and the Coronavirus reveals that the public has greater expectations than ever of business. People expect corporate leaders to lead their employees and the communities they operate in: 87 percent believe CEOs should speak out on issues; 45 percent believe government is far more effective when partnered with business; and 63 percent believe that employer communications is the most credible source of information about the coronavirus.
Highlights from the conversation include:
Thoughts on the media and trust in information.
In the U.S., Republicans find media to be the least trusted institution while Democrats find it the most trusted. When it comes to business, Democrats are far more skeptical, whereas Republicans rank business as the most trusted institution.
The mainstream media is being relied upon for accurate and timely information, but people have greater trust in the information provided by business leaders.
Trust is shifting to local sources – "people want to get their information from a source nearest to them, where in the past, it came from the top down.”
Thoughts on where business can step up.
This crisis creates an opportunity for various industries to emerge with greater trust, specifically technology companies as they enable us to work from home; food and beverage companies as they continue to supply supermarkets; and pharmaceutical companies as they are working on a vaccine to help stop this virus.
The open question, according to Richard Edelman, is financial services – the way they handle increased demand for lending and restrictions on credit will be a critical piece of how they’re perceived post-crisis.
Jim was also joined by entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban, and by Axios’ cities correspondent, Kim Hart.
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