• International Herald Tribune, Monday, January 23, 2006 12:15 PM

New research shows that marketers who rely on their chief executive to serve as spokesman should rethink their strategy. A survey conducted by Edelman Public Relations in 11 countries revealed that chief executives and other former authority figures no longer command the trust they used to among consumers, and generally should not be pressed into service as media spokesmen. When asked what kinds of people they trusted most as credible sources of information about a company, respondents most often chose "a person like yourself or your peer." In the United States, for instance, 68 percent chose this response, compared with only 28 percent for a chief executive. Edelman said the survey findings were consistent with other indications of a democratization of the business and media spheres, as the Internet puts powerful information in the hands of ordinary people more quickly, and lets them have their say on matters previously reserved for the mainstream media. "There's something of a revolution going on in terms of how people pick up and value sources of information," Edelman said. "For business, it means they've got to change their game plan."

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