corporate reputation in the nordics: leading with purpose

Ikea, GooGle and MIcrosoft top In-ternatIonal BrandsCorporate reputation in the nordiCs Leading With PurPose

www.bmnordic.com

Corporate reputation in the nordiCs – Leading With purpose / Burson-marsteller

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With a total population of around 25 million,

the Nordic market constitutes the eleventh largest

economy in the world. It is renowned for big,

established brands such as Lego, Nokia and Volvo

and - thanks to high levels of internet penetration

and entrepreneurial activity - has also recently

spawned a new generation of tech companies such

as Skype and Spotify. The region is a stronghold

of the oil and gas industries as well as clean tech-

nologies and renewable energy.

In a period of prolonged economic uncertainty,

where trust in corporations is generally low and

consumers are looking for reassurance that cor-

porations are playing their part as responsible

citizens, we set out to discover what drives

corporate reputation in the Nordics.

We asked over 4500 people from Denmark, Finland,

Norway and Sweden what is important to them in

their roles as consumers, employees, investors and

not least citizens. We also asked them to rate the

top 100 Nordic companies across a range of metrics

from trust and responsible behaviour, to innova-

tion, leadership and financial performance.

For comparison and benchmarking purposes, a num-

ber of international and additional Nordic compa-

nies from key sectors were included in the research.

The link between economic challenges and corpo-

rate responsibility is clear. There is a perception that

companies do not pay their fair share of taxation

and the demand for companies to give back to

society in other ways is high across all countries.

Our findings confirm that having a clearly defined

Corporate Purpose helps to build trust and a com-

petitive advantage among Nordic stakeholders.

Good customer service, treating employees well

and engaging with local communities are all key

drivers of trust and what turns customers into

brand advocates. Research shows that a strong and

well communicated Corporate Purpose can also

impact financial performance up to 17%[1].

We hope that this Nordic market insight will help

companies understand what drives corporate

reputation in the Nordics and how to balance

Purpose and Performance in their communications.

IntroductIon

[1] IMD’s regression analysis on industry standardised return on investments

over two five-year periods (2205-2009 and 2007-2011).

PURPOSE

Trust

Advocacy

Responsible Behaviour

Public Image

Good Employer

Environmental Responsibility

Positive Contribution to Community

PERFORMANCE

Products and Services

Financially Strong

Innovation

Strong Leadership

Communicates in a relevant way


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part 1 CorPorate rankings

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PurPose & Performance Index – toP 10 nordIc comPanIes

PURPOSE PERFORMANCEtoP 10 nordiC CoMPanies TOTAl SCORE

Tine

2.01

1.58

1.80

Norsk Tipping

1.50

1.271.38

Lego System

1.54

1.89

1.72

Valio

1.52

1.241.38

Novo Nordisk

1.47

1.81

1.64

Arla

1.16

1.43

1.30

Carlsberg

1.471.56 1.52

KONE

1.31 1.28 1.30

SOK/S-ryhmä

1.60

1.28

1.44

Volvo

1.24 1.28 1.26

PURPOSE

Trust

Advocacy

Responsible Behaviour

Public Image

Good Employer

Environmental Responsibility

Positive Contribution to Community

PERFORMANCE

Products and Services

Financially Strong

Innovation

Strong Leadership

Communicates in a relevant way

When asked to rank the top 100 Nordic companies

on a range of metrics from trust and responsible

behaviour to leadership and financial performance,

Norwegian dairy producer Tine came out top

overall, scoring particularly well on Purpose metrics.

Danish toy company Lego was rated top on

Performance. Only one Swedish company, Volvo,

made it into the top 10 list.

Danish companies score highly on both

Performance and Purpose, with a tendency

to rate better on Performance.

Finnish and Swedish companies tend to do slightly

better on Purpose metrics than Performance.

Norwegian companies do very slightly

better on Performance ratings than Purpose.


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PurPose & Performance Index – across all sectors

Consumer facing sectors such as manufacturing,

technology, food and drink, and retail score best

by far on the Nordic Purpose & Performance Index.

Among the international companies included in the

research for benchmarking purposes, the technology

sector also tops the ranking.

It is worth noting that the manufacturing and tech-

nology sectors score particularly well on Performance

metrics, whereas retail and food and drink companies

are seen to have a stronger Corporate Purpose.

As a sector, ‘business services’ is ranked lowest on

the Nordic Purpose & Performance Index. Energy,

construction, finance and telecoms are also sectors

that do less well. The biggest discrepancy between

Purpose and Performance is for the telecom sector

which is rated particularly poorly on Corporate

Purpose. Nordic telecom companies score low on

trust, public image, responsible behaviour and their

consumers are not prepared to act as advocates.

aLL seCtors

-0.22-0.17-0.19

Shipping/Logistics

Paper/ ForestryOil and gas

Manu-facturing Technology

Food and drink Retail Telecoms Financial

Con-struction Energy

Business Services

0.07-0.05

-0.17

-0.07

-0.31

-0.19

0.410.34 0.38 0.35 0.38 0.37 0.33 0.29 0.31 0.27

0.110.19

-0.5

-0.11

-0.31 -0.34-0.29-0.31

-0.36

-0.48-0.42

-0.57

-0.45-0.51

-0.7

-0.83-0.77

BOTTOM SECTORS* TOP SECTORS*

*Nordic companies only

PURPOSE PERFORMANCE TOTAl SCORE


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InternatIonal comPanIes score Better on Performance

When benchmarking against the international

com panies included in the research it becomes

apparent that, whereas Nordic companies are

generally seen as strong on Purpose driven metrics

such as trust, non-Nordic brands score best on

Performance related metrics like innovation

and financial strength.

Ikea tops the list, being perceived across the Nordics

as financially strong, innovative and a company

that communicates well with its customers.

Although not headquartered in the region, Ikea

is still perceived as Swedish and is popular in all

four Nordic countries. Swedish stakeholders still

describe Ikea as a “leading Swedish company”.

Technology companies generally score highly on

the Purpose & Performance Index because they are

seen as financially robust and as having a well-

developed products and services offering. They are

also perceived as having a strong public image but

being weak on environmental responsibility and

not viewed as “caring about the environment”.

“ I want to know that the company

remains active in the community,

using the profits to reinvest. This is

an easy way to contribute to where

they are active.” sWeden

“Companies need to think more

than just about maximizing profits.

They need to pay taxes in the coun-

try they’re working in, not hiding

it away.” Fi n Lan d


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part 2 CorPorate PurPose and LeadershiP

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corPorate PurPose drIves trust

Good customer service, treating employees well

and engaging with local communities are all key

drivers of trust. Not surprisingly, the most trusted

companies within each market tend to be domestic.

This is also true when comparing Nordic and inter-

national companies where we see Nordic companies

outperforming international ones thanks to higher

Purpose scores.

toP 5 Most trusted CoMPanies BY Market

1

2

3

4

5

denMark

Lego

Carlsberg

Coop

Novo Nordisk

Mærsk

FinLand

Fazer

Kone

OP-Pohjola

Valio

SOK/S-ryhmä

norWaY

Tine

Norsk Tipping

Coop

Gjensidige Forsikring

Posten Norge

sWeden

ICA

SKF

Arla

Scania

Volvo

“The company must operate

openly and honestly in accordance

to its values. It should treat its

employees well and be honest

with its customers.”

“Trusting means that the company

is open and honest about its

finances, and also has a reputation

as a good employer”norWaY

Fi n Lan d

MOST TRUSTED NORDIC COMPANIES

1. Tine

2. Carlsberg

3. Norsk Tipping

4. OP-Pohjola

5. Lego

FLYttad tiLL sida 12.

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PurPose three tImes more ImPortant than fInancIal Performance

Two thirds of Nordic stakeholders believe that

the CEO should be the public face of a company

and that CEOs need to have a strong profile both

internally and externally.

Among those that feel that CEOs should have

a strong profile, Corporate Purpose and vision

were identified as the issues CEOs should be most

concerned about both inside and outside of their

organisation. In fact, communicating a company’s

Purpose and core values are deemed to be more

than three times as important as communicating

a company’s financial performance.

Danish companies are seen as having particularly

strong leadership among Nordic stakeholders.

COMPANIES wITh STRONg lEADERShIP

1. Maersk

2. Novo Nordisk

3. Lego

4. Reitangruppen

5. Statoil

Which of the following is closer to your view?

CEOs do not need to be well known outside of

their own company

CEOs should be the public face of a company: they need to have a strong profile internally and externally

62 %

38 %

“Good leaders should not only

think in terms of profit, but

should position the company

to be part of the community,

and act to the society’s

benefit.”norWaY

“Company leaders must be

responsive – inform the

employees and then the media.

They should be unafraid to

apologise when there are

errors and not let subordinates

take the hit for them.” sWeden


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sustaInaBIlIty Is more than just the envIronment

The environment is an important issue for the

Nordic public and nearly 80% of stakeholders across

the region say that they are concerned about the

environmental impact of companies.

But they also agree that, for a company, sustainability

is more than just being environmentally friendly.

Good working conditions, contributing to the local

community, less focus on quarterly earnings and

more of a long-term view on financial performance

are all definitions of sustainability.

toP 5 CoMPanies BY toPiC

1

2

3

4

5

vestas

coop

tine

valio

soK/s-ryhmä

tine

norsk tipping

coop

Posten norge

soK/s-ryhmä

coop

tine

novo nordisk

norsk tipping

lego

Seen to care about the environment

Making a positive contribution to the communities where they operate

Behaving in a responsible manner

“A company should make

sure that it does not harm

the environment in the short

and long term. Environmental

considerations in particular

should be taken into

account for the life cycle

of products.”sWeden


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part 3 ConsuMer insight

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clear lInK Between economIc challenges and corPorate resPonsIBIlIty

Our research shows that Danes and Norwegians

are more positive about the state of their nation

than Swedes and Finns. Over half of Danes think

their country is heading in the right direction

compared with just one fifth of Finns. Danes and

Norwegians are also more positive about the

economy while only 13% of Finns feel their economy

is going in the right direction.

The link between economic challenges and corpo-

rate responsibility is clear. In Finland particularly

there is a perception that companies do not pay

their fair share of taxes.

Across the Nordics, there is a demand for com-

panies to give back to society. Two thirds feel that

companies have a responsibility to contribute

to local communities and overall this is one of the

metrics that the companies included in this survey

performed worst on.

Contributing to the community can, however, take

many forms. Respecting the local environment,

creating new jobs, paying taxes and contributing

to charities are all important.

toP 5 CoMPanies that ‘Make a Positive ContriBution’ BY Market

1

2

3

4

5

denMark

Lego

Coop

Carlsberg

Mærsk

Nortura

FinLand

Fazer

Valio

SOK/S-ryhmä

KONE

OP-Pohjola

norWaY

Tine

Norsk Tipping

Posten Norge

Statoil

Coop

sWeden

ICA

Arla

SCA

Volvo

SKF/Scania/Ericsson/Skanska

TOP NORDIC EMPlOyERS

1. SOK/S-ryhmä

2. KONE

3. Novo Nordisk/Valio

4. Tine/Lego

5. Carlsberg


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the nordIc consumer

40 %Somewhat important

30 %Not very important

15 %Not at all important

14 %Very important

Can you think of any companies that

are particularly good at utilising social media?

How important do you think it is for a company to have a strong presence on social media?

Overall Nordics

“Engaging with me is how I become

familiar with a company and its values

and practices – and makes me more

likely to be loyal to them.”norWaY

A company’s values are important for the Nordic

consumer who is willing to pay a premium price

for a product or service from a company they view

as responsible. A quarter of Nordic consumers say

they have advised someone to use or buy products

from a company because it has acted responsibly.

41% of Nordic consumers would like companies to

engage with them on the issues they want to hear

more about: mainly the companies’ commitment to

social responsibility and the wider impact they have

on society and the economy. Social media is an effec-

tive tool for customer engagement and Ica, Telenor

and Ikea are companies that are seen as particularly

good at utilising social media for engagement.


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FIVE TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMuNICATION IN THE NORDICS

1. DEFINE AND COMMUNICATE yOUR CORPORATE PURPOSECorporate Purpose has evolved from Corporate

Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability and

is today a distinct concept in itself. Whereas CSR

is often seen as a bolt-on to a company’s core

business, Purpose cuts across all business func-

tions. Part of a company’s DNA and its raison

d’être, Purpose guides and informs the basis of

the mission, vision and values of a company.

2. wAlk ThE TAlkCorporate Purpose is key for both internal and

external communication, however the Purpose

comes first, it is not a communications tool. Pur-

pose is central to strategy development and guides

business decisions, allowing companies to take

a holistic view and strategically align values,

organisational culture and operations. This helps

to avoid any disconnect between what companies

say they do and how they actually operate. It also

helps avoid accusations of “greenwashing”.

3. MAxIMISE CEO PROFIlE INTERNAlly AND ExTERNAlly There is a growing demand from consumers,

employees, investors and other stakeholders for

CEOs to be the public face of a company and to

have a strong profile both internally and externally.

A company’s Purpose and values are seen as the

key issues a CEO should be most concerned with

communicating both inside and outside the

organization.

4. “lOCAlISE” COMMUNICATIONThe 25 million people that make up the Nordic

market are culturally and linguistically close to one

another. The Nordic public also shares core values

and beliefs around the role of companies in today’s

society. However, as our research shows, the most

trusted companies within each market tend to

be domestic: communicating in local language,

engaging with local communities, treating employ-

ees well and having good customer service.

5. USE SOCIAl MEDIA FOR CUSTOMER ENgAgEMENTNordic stakeholders want companies to engage

with them, but not just for advertising and promo-

tional purposes. Social media is an excellent tool

for engagement if used correctly. As a first step,

ensure that your own social media channels are

used for discussions and dialogue rather than

promotion. As a next step, participate in all the

other discussions taking place on the web around

your products and brands.

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“Performance with a Purpose is

based on the belief that companies

can – and must achieve business

and financial success while also

leaving a lasting and positive

imprint on society”

i n dra nooYi, Chai rMan, PePsiCo


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Burson-Marsteller commissioned

leading research firm Penn

Schoen and Berland to under-

take an online quantitative

survey of 4531 people in the

Nordic region between July

and September 2014. Quotas

were set for gender, age

and region to ensure that

the sample is representative

of each population.

To find out more about

your company’s Purpose

& Performance ranking,

please contact:

SARA ALSéN

Managing Director,

Strategy Nordic Region

[email protected]

+46 (0)761107057

methodology

the FoLLoWing CoMPanies are inCLuded in the researCh


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Burson-Marsteller, established in 1953, is a

leading global public relations and communications

agency with unrivalled presence and expertise in the

Nordic region. Our teams of experienced consultants

in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm work

closely together on a day-to-day basis to provide

clients with strategic insight and innovative public

relations, public affairs, reputation and crisis manage-

ment, digital strategy, advertising and other commu-

nications services. Having wholly-owned offices in all

Nordic countries, not only sets Burson-Marsteller

apart from the competition but ensures that we can

deliver seamless communications services across

the region. Worldwide, Burson-Marsteller operates

in 110 countries across six continents.

www.bmnordic.com

Penn schoen Berland (PsB), a member of

Young & Rubicam Group and the WPP Group,

is a global research-based consultancy that

specialises in messaging and communications

strategy for blue-chip political, corporate and enter-

tainment clients. PSB’s operations include over 200

consultants and a sophisticated in-house market

research infrastructure with the capability to

conduct work in over 90 countries. The company

operates offices in Washington, D.C., New York,

London, Seattle, Los Angeles, Dubai, Delhi, Miami,

The Dominican Republic and Denver, which are

supported by an in-house fielding capability and

are fully equipped to provide the complete

creative solutions PSB clients need.

www.psbresearch.com


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