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Voters Give Nod to BC Liberals for Best Campaign, But None of the Three Major Campaigns is Impressing Voters

Gordon Campbell (44%) Leads Carole James (30%) as Best Premier

Vancouver, BC – A new Ipsos Reid poll reveals that none of the three major parties has succeeded in connecting with voters during the first week and a half of the campaign.

Best Campaign: Overall, British Columbians give Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberals (40%) the edge for running the best overall campaign, followed by Carole James and the NDP (21%) and Jane Sterk and the Green Party (4%). One-in-three (34%) voters say they don’t know which party has run the best campaign so far.

Impact of BC Liberal Campaign: While the BC Liberals get credit for running the best campaign, it hasn’t been one that has swayed many voters. Only 12% say their impression of Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberals has improved since the start of the campaign. Most voters say their impression of the BC Liberal leader and party has either stayed the same (51%) or worsened (34%).

Impact of NDP Campaign: So far, 17% of voters say their impression of Carole James and the NDP has improved since the start of the campaign, which is the best score of the three major parties. However, more than twice as many voters (37%) say their impression of James and the NDP has worsened (42% stayed the same).

Impact of Green Campaign: The campaign has had little impact on impressions of Jane Sterk and the Green Party with 12% improved impressions and 10% worsened impressions (48% stayed the same).

Comparison to 2005 Campaign: Ipsos Reid asked the same question about campaign impact early in the 2005 campaign. The only notable difference to today is that Carole James and the NDP had positive momentum early in the 2005 campaign.

• 2005 scores for BC Liberals: 10% improved, 29% worsened
• 2005 scores for NDP: 29% improved, 13% worsened
• 2005 scores for Greens: 13% improved, 8% worsened

Best Premier: Gordon Campbell (44%) has a sizable lead over Carole James (30%) as the party leader that British Columbians think would make the best Premier of BC. Jane Sterk is a distant third choice (6%), while 20% are undecided.

Clients of Ipsos Take Home Four Gold, One Silver, Plus the Grand Ogilvy Award

New York, NY - Ipsos ASI, the advertising research specialty of Ipsos, and Ipsos Understanding Unlimited, its qualitative arm, are thrilled to congratulate its clients for six wins at the ARF 2009 David Ogilvy Awards. Ipsos clients took home four Gold and one Silver award. In addition, client Frito-Lay won the Grand Ogilvy Award, the night’s top advertising prize, selected from among all Gold category winners.

Grand Ogilvy Award:

Ipsos congratulates Frito-Lay for its Grand Ogilvy Award-winning “The Orange Underground” for popular snack brand Cheetos. Ipsos ASI provided copy testing for the ad through an online tool, Next Solutions, to help steer mascot Chester Cheetah’s appeal to a more mature audience. The Grand Ogilvy Award recognizes “the campaign demonstrating the most successful use of research in the creation of superior advertising that achieves a critical business objective.”

“The Orange Underground” also took Gold in the category of Packaged Goods.

More Winners:

In the category of Beverages + Alcohol, Nabob’s “Postcards” won Gold. Ipsos ASI provided copy-testing insight into the print ad campaign for Kraft Canada.

For Personal Care, Procter & Gamble was a Gold winner for its “Next BIG Thing – Lashblast Mascara” CoverGirl Cosmetics ad. Ipsos ASI provided research and consulting at several stages in the development of its blockbuster launch. Early stage ad research tools were a key element of the interactive research process.

Under Financial Services, Bank of America took Gold for campaign “Opportunities for All”. Ipsos UU provided a foundational brand assessment, plus tool Quali*360 to qualitatively test ads for relevance in today’s marketplace.

Finally, taking home Silver in the same category was Johnson & Johnson, for its “Couples Campaign” ad for product K-Y® YOURS+MINE®. Ipsos provided copy testing for a number of the KY "Couples" spots, using the online Next*Solutions methodology. This research explored how the ads were appealing to consumers on both a rational and an emotional level.

“I am both pleased and proud of our clients, and of our teams here at Ipsos,” comments Pam Maltby, President of the advertising specialty at Ipsos. “Our clients have worked hard to create innovative, effective advertising. We share in the celebration of our research and insight being of assistance in these fine examples of successful campaigns.”

The ARF 2009 David Ogilvy Awards were held on March 31 at the Marriott Marquis, New York City.

Two-in-Ten (21%) Think Canucks Will Win Stanley Cup

Roberto Luongo Chosen as Regular Season MVP and Fan Favourite

Team Gets Overall “B” Grade for Performance this Season

Vancouver, BC – With the puck about to drop on the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, a new Ipsos Reid poll among Vancouver Canucks fans in British Columbia (defined as those who follow the Vancouver Canucks either “very closely” or “somewhat closely”) reveals that fans believe their team is a contender. While there is no parade planned yet, two-in-ten (21%) think the Canucks will win the 2009 Stanley Cup, more than any other NHL team. Other teams picked by Canucks fans to lift Lord Stanley’s cup this year include the Detroit Red Wings (17%), the San Jose Sharks (15%), the Boston Bruins (10%), and the Calgary Flames (7%). No other team is selected by more than 2% of Canucks fans to contend for the Stanley Cup this year.

While 21% of fans believe the Vancouver Canucks will go “all the way” another 7% think they’ll make it to the Stanley Cup final, but finish in second. Fully one-third (35%) think they’ll make it to the conference final, another 28% think they’ll make it to the conference semi-final, and only 9% think they won’t make it past the first round.

Nearly half (45%) of Vancouver Canucks fans chose captain Roberto Luongo as the team’s most valuable player for the 2008/09 regular season, with Alexandre Burrows clinching second place as fully one-quarter (25%) of fans think he should be named MVP. And with the retirement of Trevor Linden, Roberto Luongo wins the favourite Canuck award (27%) with Alexandre Burrows (20%) not too far behind. In fact, among “avid” Canucks fans (defined as those who follow the Vancouver Canucks “very closely”), Burrows is named as the “fan favourite” ahead of Luongo (31% vs. 24%, respectively).

In terms of the Canucks performance in the 2008/09 regular season, fans give the team an overall “B” grade. The Vancouver Canucks goaltending gets the highest grade – an “A-“ – for the goaltenders’ performance between the pipes. The Canucks forwards get a “B” grade, while both the Canucks defence and coaching staff receive a “B-“ for their performance this year.

Similar to a month ago, nearly two out of three Americans (63%) approve of way Obama is handling his job as President

Washington, DC – The monthly Ipsos/McClatchy poll indicates the majority of Americans (63%) continue to approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president. This is similar to the 65% approval rating Obama received exactly one month ago in the Ipsos/McClatchy tracking poll.

Obama’s approval rating continues to break heavily along political party lines, with 91% of Democrats approving the job he has done, while only 26% of Republicans approve of his work as president. Among independents, 57% approve how Obama has handled his job as president.

When it Comes to Economy, Americans More Likely to Trust Obama Than Private Sector or Congress

When asked who they trust most to improve the economy, Americans are more likely to choose Obama (47%) than the private sector (37%) or Congress (11%).

Americans’ views on this issue vary greatly by political party, with 69% of Democrats saying they most trust Obama to improve the economy, compared to only 19% of Republicans who feel this way. Republicans are more likely to say they trust the private sector to improve the economy (62%). In contrast, only 17% of Democrats say they most trust the private sector to improve the economy.

Obama Gets Higher Grades for Diplomacy Than for Economy

When asked to assign a letter grade to Obama for his performance on diplomacy issues, nearly two out of three Americans (61%) give him an “A” or “B.” Obama receives his next highest marks on how he has handled education issues (57% of Americans give him an “A” or “B” on education), and slightly lower marks for his performance on energy independence (54%), healthcare (50%), terrorism (49%) and the economy (47%).

Majority of Americans Say Economy Has Stabilized

In a change from last month, more than half of Americans (52%) now say the U.S. economy has stabilized, well up from the 35% of Americans who said that four weeks ago. Further, only one in three Americans (36%) say the worst is still yet to come with the economy, compared to 57% of Americans who felt that way last month.

Americans Remain Realistic About Stimulus Package

Half of all Americans (49%) WANT to see results from the economic stimulus package within six months. However, the public takes a realistic tack on the issue. Only a quarter of Americans (22%) EXPECT to see results from the economic stimulus package within the next six months, while nearly three quarters of Americans (72%) say it will take longer than that.

Seven in Ten (69%) Think We’ll Come Out of the Recession Stronger and Better than Before it Started

Toronto, ON – Amid a barrage of bad-news stories dealing with gloomy economic forecasts, deep deficits and job losses, even in this time of recession Canadians remain optimistic, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Canwest News Service and Global National.

In fact, eight in ten (83%) are ‘optimistic’ (36% very/47% somewhat) about ‘Canada as a nation’, and an equal proportion is ‘optimistic’ (26% very/57% somewhat) about their ‘standard of living compared to others’. It seems that even in tough times, most Canadians believe they’re relatively well-off.

Further, eight in ten (84%) ‘agree’ (35% strongly/49% somewhat) that they are ‘always an optimist’ and that they ‘see the glass as half full’, an attitude that appears to be in stark contrast to the prevailing mood in the news media – one of impending doom and gloom.

Focusing on the economy, seven in ten (69%) ‘agree’ (23% strongly/46% somewhat) that ‘we’ll come out of this economic recession stronger and better than before it started’. Just three in ten (30%) ‘disagree’ (8% strongly/22% somewhat). What is unclear is when that will be, as only 44% are ‘optimistic’ (11% very/34% somewhat) that it will be this year. The majority (55%) is ‘not optimistic’ (20% not at all/35% not very) that we’ll get out of recession this year.

Still, nine in ten (87%) ‘agree’ (40% strongly/47% somewhat) that ‘despite everything that’s going on in the world, they’re still optimistic for a better tomorrow’. However, only a slim majority ‘agrees’ (15% strongly/37% somewhat) that ‘they’re confident that when they grow up, today’s children will be better off than their own generation is today’, while nearly one half (47%) ‘disagrees’ (15% strongly/32% somewhat) with this sentiment.

Health, Arts, Science and Technology…

Setting aside economic issues for now, Canadians appear to be optimistic about a wide-variety of things ranging from their own health to advancements in science and technology. More specifically, nine in ten (90%) are ‘optimistic’ (44% strongly/46% somewhat) about their ‘personal health’ situation, perhaps driven by the fact that eight in ten (83%) are ‘optimistic’ (32% very/50% somewhat) about ‘the advancements in science and healthcare to cure future ailments’.

Moreover, eight in ten (80%) Canadians are ‘optimistic’ (29% very/50% somewhat) about ‘technological discoveries that will help make our lives better’.

One area where a majority (62%) is still ‘optimistic’ (18% very/44% somewhat), but not to the same degree as the areas above, relates to ‘the strength of arts and culture’ in their community. Fully one in three (34%) are ‘not optimistic’ (8% not at all/26% not very) about the strength of the arts in their community.

Participation Rate Holds Steady With Last Year, But Those Who Participated Got a Little More Involved

Toronto, ON — Six in ten (60%) Canadians were either in the dark (51%) for Earth Hour or participated in some other way (9%), according to a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Canwest News Service and Global National. While four in ten (40%) did not participate, Earth Hour appears to have achieved its goal of raising environmental awareness, with three quarters (74%) ‘agreeing’ (21% strongly/52% somewhat) that it got them to think more about what they can do to help the environment, including 59% of those who did not participate in the event. But almost all (96%) Canadians ‘agree’ (70% strongly/26% somewhat) that ‘in order to help the environment we need to do more than turn off our lights for one hour each year’.

The proportion of Canadians who report having participated this year is unchanged from last year (60% in 2009 vs. 59% in 2008), however those who did participate got slightly more involved, overall. Nearly nine in ten (85%) turned the lights off (up 2 points), eight in ten (83%) did not use appliances (up 3 points), two in three (67%) turned off their computer (up 2 points), six in ten turned off the television (up 4 points), two in ten turned off the furnace (up 7 points), and 17% turned off clocks or other small devices (up 3 points).

Participation rates varied greatly across the country. Overall, Ontarians (74%) were the most likely to report having observed Earth Hour, while a majority in Alberta (63%), British Columbia (62%), Atlantic Canada (59%), and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (57%) also got involved. The lowest reported levels of participation are found in Quebec (35%).

In Alberta (+11) and Ontario (3+) participation rates increased over last year. But in British Columbia (-8), Quebec (-3) and Atlantic Canada (-2) participation dropped, while it remained unchanged in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The poll also revealed that participation rates varied greatly by age, with those aged 55+ (63%) and 35-54 (61%) being significantly more likely than those aged 18-34 (54%) to have participated. Further, women (64%) have a higher propensity than men (55%) to say that they observed Earth Hour.

Interestingly, among those who did participate, one half (49%) say that they looked in their neighbourhood to see who was and was not turning their lights off for Earth Hour.

Many Plan to Use Their Tax Refunds to Pay off Debt

New York, NY – As the deadline for filing their 2008 income taxes approaches, many Americans may be missing out on credits and deductions due to their lack of familiarity with the tax system and tax law changes, according to a new study conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of H&R Block. Half of Americans who are filing taxes this year (50%) believe that they cannot claim credits or deductions they may have overlooked on previous returns. Thus, in this time of economic crisis, many Americans may be missing out on potential refund money.

* Even among adults with a college degree and those with a household income of at least $50,000, over four in ten do not think it is possible to claim deductions or credits that were missed in previous tax returns.

As a reflection of the current economic crisis, over one in three 2008 income tax filers (36%) say that they plan to put their refund money towards paying down debt while 18% plan to save it and 12% plan to spend it on necessities. Only 4% plan to splurge on items such as a flat screen TV or on a vacation with their tax refund.

Washington, DC—A major analysis of world public opinion was released today by Ipsos— the worlds third largest market and opinion research company—on the eve of the April 2, 2009 G-20 meeting in London, England.

Titled “The Gathering Storm”, the 64 page easy to read and illustrated analysis is based on 22,000 recent interviews conducted throughout countries totaling 75% of the world’s GDP.

Key topics covered in the analysis include world citizen’s attitudes on economic confidence, trade and regulation, trust of business, their most worrying issues and a unique segmentation on globalization and control.

“The report is a primer on world public opinion that literally puts the voice of citizen’s at the table of perhaps the most important meeting of world leadership in decades” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs.

The Global @dvisor Report is free of charge and can be downloaded at http://www.ipsos-pa.com/expertise/trendsga/WorldPublicOpinion/