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Toronto, ON – If they had a chance to be an Olympic Torchbearer and could choose any Canadian (living or deceased) to pass the torch to, nearly one half (44%) of Canadians would choose to relay the torch to Terry Fox, the heroic Canadian who was unable to complete his cross-Canada Marathon of Hope in 1980. Terry Fox topped the list across the country, among all age categories, and for both men and women. Receiving the next-most votes is hockey-legend Wayne Gretzky (14%), followed by former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (12%), pop-star Celine Dion (7%), hockey-legend Gordie Howe (5%), and jazz-pianist Oscar Peterson (3%).

Rounding out the top-ten are Nancy Greene (3%), Tommy Douglas (3%), Emily Carr (3%) and a three-way tie among Margaret Atwood (2%), Hayley Wickenheiser (2%), and Maurice Richard (2%).

Two in Ten (19%) Spend At Least An Hour A Day Cleaning and Tidying Their Home

Toronto, ON – The results of a new Ipsos Reid poll, conducted on behalf of P&G, have revealed that a majority (54%) of Canadians ‘enjoy’ (12% very much/42% somewhat) cleaning their home. In fact, two in ten (19%) Canadians say they spend at least an hour a day cleaning and tidying their home, with 8% spending more than an hour and a half of their time daily on this activity.

Some, though, are not quite as enthused with the task of cleaning their home, saying that they don’t enjoy it ‘very much’ (30%), or ‘not at all’ (16%). Four in ten (38%) spend less than 30 minutes a day cleaning and tidying, and a similar proportion (42%) says this task takes between half an hour and an hour to complete on a daily basis.

Women (28%) are more likely than men (11%) to say they spend at least an hour a day cleaning and tidying their home. Conversely, men (49%) are more likely than women (28%) to spend less than 30 minutes a day.

And what room do Canadians enjoy cleaning the most? Four in ten (41%) say the kitchen is their favourite room to clean, while 27% voted for the living room. Others enjoy cleaning the bedrooms (17%) the most, and 7% say cleaning the bathroom takes the cake. One in ten (8%) chose some other room.

New York, NY - Despite mounting job losses and a stock market spiraling toward a 12-year low, U.S. consumer sentiment edged up this month according to the most recent results of the RBC CASH (Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Household) Index. The survey, which measured the attitudes of 1,000 Americans earlier this week, found that consumer sentiment remained very low, but stable. As a result, the overall RBC CASH Index stands at 8.2 for March 2009, up slightly from 1.6 in February, the lowest level on record since the inception of the Index in 2002.

"Consumer confidence looks to be trying to find a bottom," said Larry Miller, managing director, RBC Capital Markets. "The March improvement taken together with the stabilization of spending intentions we've seen in our restaurant and other consumer surveys and in the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) may suggest the consumer has dialed back its spending to a level that is reflective of the current macroeconomic realities. Holding these levels will be key to restoring investor confidence."

The RBC CASH Index is a monthly national survey of consumer attitudes on the current and future state of local economies, personal finance situations, savings and confidence to make large investments. The Index is composed of four sub-indices: RBC Current Conditions Index; RBC Expectations Index; RBC Investment Index; and, RBC Jobs Index. The Index is benchmarked to a baseline of 100 assigned at its introduction in January 2002. This month's findings are based on a representative nationwide sample of 1,000 U.S. adults polled from March 5-9, 2009, by survey-based research company Ipsos Public Affairs. The margin of error was ±3.1 per cent.

Highlights of the survey results include:

• The RBC Current Conditions Index rallied to 14.8, up 13.2 points compared to February's 1.6 record-low level. Currently, 35 per cent of Americans rate their personal finances as weak, down from 39 per cent last month. Consumers' evaluations of the current state of their local economy also improved this month as 47 per cent of Americans (48 per cent) rated their local economy as weak, down from 54 per cent in February.
• Consumers' overall opinions regarding investing also edged up this month. The RBC Investment Index, which was at 17.6 in February, currently stands at 24.6. Most of the increase in investment confidence stems from improvements in consumers' financial conditions, although consumers are still anxious. And, despite the plunge in the value of the stock market, the number of Americans who believe it is a "bad time" to invest in the stock market held steady at 70 per cent this month.
• With unemployment rates creeping to their highest levels in two decades, the RBC Jobs Index dropped to an all-time low of 40.8, down from 42.3 in February. The decline in American's job security confidence is led by real experiences in job loss. Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of Americans say that they or someone in their close circle has lost their job in the past six months due to the economy, up from 62 per cent last month.
• Although still in negative territory, the RBC Expectations Index held steady in March, ticking up just 2.2 points to - 25.9, up from - 28.1 last month. This month, 31 per cent of Americans say they expect their personal financial situation to improve over the next six months, a decrease from 33 per cent in February. Confidence in the recovery of local economies is more mixed; one-in-three (30 per cent) consumers believe the local economy will strengthen in the next six months, nearly one in four (38 per cent) believe it will stay about the same and one in three (30 per cent) believe it will weaken.

Obama’s approval rating (65%) slips only slightly from one month ago (69%); approval breaks strongly along party lines.

Washington, DC – The latest Ipsos/McClatchy poll indicates the majority of Americans (65%) continue to approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president. This represents only a slight decline from the 69% approval rating Obama received exactly one month ago in the Ipsos/McClatchy poll.

Obama’s approval rating breaks heavily along political party lines, with 89% of Democrats approving the job he has done, while only 25% of Republicans approve of his work as president. Among independents, 58% approve how Obama has handled his job as president.

Despite Strong Approval Ratings for Obama, Nearly Half Say US On Wrong Track

Americans are split on the direction of the country, with 48% saying the US is on the wrong track, compared to 44% who think the country is headed in the right direction.

Americans’ outlook varies by political party, with 62% of Democrats saying the US is headed in the right direction, while only 20% of Republicans feel this way.

Majority of Americans Expect Economy To Worsen

A majority of Americans (57%) say the worst is yet to come with the US economy. While one in three Americans (35%) think the economy has stabilized, almost no one (3%) thinks the US economy has turned the corner.

Wealthier Americans are more likely than those with lower incomes to think the economy will worsen. Two in three Americans with household incomes of at least $50,000 (66%) say the economy will continue to erode. However, only 50% of Americans with household incomes less than that say the economy will get worse.

Half of Americans Have Unfavorable View of Rush Limbaugh

Overall, nearly half of Americans (46%) hold an unfavorable view of Rush Limbaugh, while one-third (30%) have a favorable view of him. The remaining Americans (21%) have no opinion of him.

Opinions of Limbaugh split heavily by political party, with 59% of Republicans holding a favorable view of him compared to only 14% of Democrats who view Limbaugh favorably.

Ipsos/MS&L Survey Uncovers Drivers of Digital Influence and Reveals How Information Is Shared Online

NEW YORK – Traditional media play a vital role in igniting the process that leads influencers to share information online and via word of mouth, according to a new Ipsos Public Affairs study developed by IM MS&L, the influencer marketing practice of MS&L. Among nearly 1,000 digital influencers in the areas of beauty, personal health or the environment, more than eight in ten say they often go online to find out more after reading something in a magazine or newspaper (84%) or hearing something on TV or on the radio (84%.) The research shows that both traditional and online media sources help shape public opinion in the complex world of online influence.

The study helped develop a tool called the “IM MS&L Sharability Index,” which ranks sources of online information based on how often material from those locations is shared by a category’s most powerful influencers. The index was introduced as a method for maximizing digital influence based on learnings from the research and was designed to help marketers make decisions on influencer strategies to create campaigns for maximum impact.

The index takes into account online influencers’ propensity to both gather and share information. It also considers information sources influencers use most often and the sources with maximum “sharability,” or those most likely to be shared. The index then ranks 15 types of online sources within three distinct categories of digital influencers: beauty, personal health, and environmental cause. Sources with the highest sharability generate the most digital word-of-mouth per contact.

Below are some of the key findings of the research:

Beauty influencers rely heavily on manufacturers’ websites for their point of view.

• In a good sign for advertisers, company and product websites are more effective sources for driving word-of-mouth in the beauty category than in either personal health or environmental cause.
• Online community Web sites rank the highest of 15 sources for sharability among digital beauty influencers, and portals and search engines have the lowest sharability score.
• In the beauty category, consumer opinion may motivate more sharing than in other categories: Blogs, discussion boards and chat rooms are rated above average on the index.

Non-profit and academic web sites should not be neglected for green content.

• Influencers in the environment space spend a great deal of time gathering information from non-profit, association and academic Web sites (42% do so at least once per week).
• Digital influencers in the category of environmental cause embrace traditionally credible and objective sites when it comes to sharability.
• The highest sharability scores go to Web sites of environment-related publications, magazines and TV networks, and non-profit/academic Web sites.
• Banner ads and online community sites have the lowest sharability scores, meaning that environmental influencers share information from these sources much less frequently than they do information from all other sources, relative to how often they gather information from each of these sources.

Nutrition is a hot topic for health influencers

• Majorities of personal health influencers frequently gather information about nutrition (54%) and nearly half frequently share this content with others.
• The most “sharable” source among digital influencers in this category are national and local government Web sites, even though these sites are not as widely visited and used as other sites that provide health information.
• These Web sites trigger a great deal of word-of-mouth on the part of the personal health influencers who access them, so the sites may provide the biggest bang for a marketer’s digital communications’ buck.
• While influencers often use portals and search engines to gather health information, these are among the sources with the lowest “sharability” rankings.

Home-Buying Intentions Rebound From Last year As More Canadians are Likely To Buy a Home in Next Two Years

Toronto, ON – Opportunity awaits as two in three (65%) Canadians believe the current real-estate market in Canada is a buyer’s market, according to the 16th Annual RBC/Ipsos Reid Housing Poll. Nearly three in ten (27%) say they’re ‘likely’ (9% very/18% somewhat) to purchase a home within the next two years’, up 4 points from last year and the largest single-year increase since 2001. The proportion that says they’re ‘very likely’ to purchase a home is up from 7% last year to 9% this year. But Canadians are split on whether buying conditions will change to be more favourable within the next year, such that it makes more sense to wait until next year (52%) or buy now (48%).

• Albertans (35%) are most inclined to say they’re at least somewhat likely buy a home within the next two years, followed by those living in Ontario (30%), British Columbia (26%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (25%), Atlantic Canada (25%), and Quebec (22%).
• British Columbians (78%) are the most likely to believe that it’s a buyer’s market right now, followed by those living in Ontario (73%), Alberta (72%), Atlantic Canada (58%) and Quebec (52%). Only one in three (34%) in Saskatchewan and Manitoba believe the same.

The increase in likely home-buying intentions appears to be led by the under 35 segment of the population, as 48% say they’re at least ‘somewhat likely’ (18% very/29% somewhat) to purchase a home in the next two years, up 12 points from last year. Renters also see an opportunity to enter the real-estate market, as four in ten (38%) say they’re at least ‘somewhat likely’ (11% very/26% somewhat) to purchase in the next two years.

Overall, most (83%) Canadians are still convinced that buying a house or condominium is a ‘good’ (34% very/48% somewhat) investment. While this proportion is down 3 points from last year and 8 points from its high of two years ago, it is still well above its low (72%) of 1999.

Among those individuals who say they’re at least somewhat likely to buy a home within the next two years, three in ten (28%) say that favourable housing prices are among their reasons for purchasing. A majority (54%) of Canadians believe that housing prices will continue to drop next year (up from 23% last year), compared to 25% who think they will be higher (down from 56%), or 21% who believe that prices will be the same at this time next year (unchanged).

One in ten (14%) homeowners believe their home has lost value within the last two years, but a majority (54%) of these individuals believe the value of their home will recover within 3-5 years, while others believe it will be a shorter time-frame (30%), longer (11%), or never (6%).

Among those individuals who are not likely to purchase a home within the next two years, most (60%) say they’ve already got a home, but few cite job anxiety (8%) or general concern for current economic conditions (6%) as the reason they’re not likely to purchase a home. Three percent (3%) are waiting for prices to stabilize or decrease further.

One in Three (31%) Are Investing Fewer Resources into Upgrades and New Technologies, But Most Are Staying the Course (59%) or Investing More Resources (10%)

Toronto, ON — It appears that the economic downturn is putting a strain on many IT departments across the country, with a new Ipsos Reid poll of business managers and executives conducted on behalf of Microsoft indicating that six in ten (62%) ‘agree’ (19% strongly/43% somewhat) that their IT staff is ‘expected to do more work with less resources’ as a result of the impact that the economy is having on their business. Just four in ten (38%) ‘disagree’ (9% strongly/29% somewhat) that this is the case.

Despite the fact that most (71%) ‘agree’ (25% strongly/46% somewhat) that their company ‘uses technology to help people drive resources and to keep the company competitive’, and that their number-one technology investment goal is to ‘help save money in the long run’ (77% ‘agree’, 28% strongly/49% somewhat), one in three (30%) says their priority to upgrade or invest in new technologies has changed, and that they’re investing fewer resources.

On the flipside, most (59%) business have not changed their priorities in this regard, and some (10%) are even investing more resources into technology and upgrades. Further, one half (48%) of respondents says their business will be looking at new technology and upgrades to help drive their business during the economic downturn, focusing on software plus services (44%), hardware (23%), software (21%) or some other (12%) type of technology or upgrade. Moreover, three quarters (74%) ‘agree’ (24% strongly/50% somewhat) that their company ‘is continuing to invest in tools to support and drive technology’.

Two in three (63%) managers and executives believe that their IT workers are ‘stretched to meet the business’ IT needs’. Despite this admission, eight in ten (82%) say their co-workers expect the same benefits of their company’s technology solutions as before the economic downturn.

Interestingly, IT workers in Quebec appear to be most likely to be stretched:

• Quebecers (84%) are by far the most likely to say their IT workers are stretched to meet their business’ IT needs, followed by those living in Atlantic Canada (59%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (59%), Alberta (58%), Ontario (56%) and British Columbia (52%).
• They are also the most likely (67%) to say that their IT staff is expected to do more work with less resources, followed by those living in Atlantic Canada (63%), Ontario (61%), Alberta (59%), British Columbia (57%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (56%).
• Quebecers (72%) are least likely to say that their co-workers expect the same benefits of their company’s technology solutions as before the economic downturn. Those living in Ontario (82%), Atlantic Canada (86%), British Columbia (89%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (90%) and Alberta (92%) are more likely.