Who do Canadians Turn to for Advice?

83% of Canadian investors expect to call their financial advisor when they need financial advice and guidance, with 47% making that their first call. An even higher percentage (53 %) of investors with assets of $1M plus seek out their financial advisor before looking at other information sources. 

 The next most likely resource for investors looking for information is news and industry specific websites with 38% of Canadian investors doing the legwork themselves and checking in with relevant websites to help frame their financial strategies.

High net worth investors are clearly more confident of their ability to analyze industry data without the filter of an advisor.  48% of investors with over $1M in assets are using industry specific websites, with 21% reading them over before looking at other information sources.   Only 33% of those with assets of $25k-$100k bother reading them and only 16% of this group choose to read news and industry specific websites first.

Call a Friend

Not surprisingly young investors and those with lower net worth rely on their family for advice.  43% of 18-34 year olds call family members – a quarter of them choose to call family members before taking any other advice.   High net worth investors don’t usually bother to call family members (12%) or friends (10%) for financial advice. 

“Understands the market and recommends things good for me personally”

Definition of “Value” in financial advice varies across investor groups however the most common themes are “relevancy” (30% of respondents mentioned), “trust” (24%), “results” (16%) and advisor “expertise” (16%).  Relevancy applies to advisors’ ability to apply their insights into current financial and market conditions to individual investors’ personal needs and lifestyle. 

The Wealth Management Index report found that investors who feel they receive quality advice are 12 times more likely be satisfied with their advisor (75% vs 6%) than those who do not. 

Demitry Estrin, SVP Finance Vision Critical says that quality advice is vital to maintaining client loyalty, “We know from earlier studies that only a very small percentage of investors who are satisfied with the quality of advice they receive will go looking for a new financial advisor.  However half of investor who weren’t convinced that they had been receiving good advice were looking to switch.”

Investors want regular updates from their advisors. 

Frequent communications are expected for the major investment categories.  For over half the respondents the usual annual communication is simply not enough and 34% prefer information on their traditional investments at least once a quarter.  Again high net worth individuals have significantly higher expectations with more than 60% expecting traditional investment communications at least once a quarter.

The topics that investors are willing to get updates most regularly about are: traditional investments, risk management, portfolio diversification and alternative investments.  Most investors want much less frequent communications about insurance products, charitable donations, inheritance planning and estate planning once every few years.

New York, July 21st  – Vision Critical, the strategic interactive research and technology company, and its public affairs arm Angus Reid Public Opinion, release their Corporate Reputation Rankings from the diagnostic reputation measurement and management tool ReputationPlus™.

ReputationPlus looks beyond the presence or absence of positives and probes negative responses like executive compensation, management’s short term thinking, secrecy, greed and arrogance.   In these hyper-critical times examining negative as well as positive metrics helps create a clearer picture of weakness and vulnerability as well as competitive strengths.

John Gilfeather who has been working with Vision Critical on ReputationPlus says, “In forty years of studying corporate reputation, I have never seen this level of vitriol aimed at larger corporations.  It is not just an erosion of positives, but also a rise in distinct negatives.” Gilfeather continued, “If companies do not start communicating – and communicating better – about why they should be respected, this trend will continue.”

Johnson & Johnson tops the list of most favorably perceived companies, in a top ten dominated by CPG companies and the big three computing and technology companies.  The top ten all rated favorably on fundamentals like value, quality and trust and being welcomed into a local community, all signs of well managed companies and good corporate citizens.  These companies are not just household names but valued household guests – their products staples of most American households. 

The top ranking companies have generally avoided any major recent scandals, reflected by a lack of the most negative label of “idiots” – the public’s shorthand for arrogance, greed and secrecy.  However these companies still attracted comment about executive compensation and putting their profits above what is good for the country.

ReputationPlus Rankings

High profits judged in context of other scores

Many of the top ten receive above and sometimes very much above average scores for making “a lot of money for shareholders”.  Clearly companies can be highly profitably but still maintain superior reputations as long as they aren’t perceived as behaving like greedy “idiots”.   However there is a mixed picture.  It is not news that almost half of Americans think that BP puts profits ahead of what is good for the United States.  But it is news that one out of five Americans feels this way about widely admired companies like Kraft and Johnson & Johnson.

The second ten companies share many of the same positive characteristics of the top ten.  Ford (17) deserves special mention by considerably outperforming the other auto companies studied.  GM (30) and Toyota (44) have clearly struggled through one of the most challenging periods of automotive history notable for the scale of bankruptcies, bailouts and auto recalls.

The bottom half of the rankings are dominated by financial services and health insurance companies.  Those with the least favorable rankings are ones that have been splashed across our television screens and newspaper front pages – and not for positive reasons.  Health insurers, major banks, Toyota, brokerage firms and oil companies are all subject to public opinion backlash.

BP is, of course, a magnet for negative opinions.  Almost half of Americans hold very negative opinions of BP (1 or 2 on a six point scale.)  In addition, BP is the company most frequently described as idiots, arrogant and secretive.  When it comes to greedy, however, Exxon Mobil is essentially tied with BP.

Americans’ assessment of BP exceeds by at least 16 percentage points negative opinions of Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Toyota – the most beleaguered companies in the recent (pre Gulf oil spill) months.

About ReputationPlus

Each of the 54 companies in the ReputationPlus™ survey was evaluated by 800 Americans, from a total of 10,800, drawn from Vision Critical’s proprietary online Springboard America panel with key demographic breakouts.  US census balanced sample aged 21+.  Future studies will be based on 1000 Americans per company.

The Overall Reputation Ranking is a based on an index scored from 0 to 100 that represents the average associations given to a company based on 15 attributes and 8 personality traits.  Negatively worded attributes and personality traits have been reversed such that a perfect “good” score would be 100 and a perfectly “bad” score is 0.  The attributes and personality traits have been weighted in their contribution to this Overall Reputation Index based on their relative importance to driving overall feeling towards companies (based on a regression analysis across 54 companies examined).

The Key Driver Analysis is based on a Shapley Value Regression and quantifies the overall contribution of individual aspects of consumer associations for corporations on their feelings toward those corporations overall.

Jennifer Reid, SVP Strategy

July 13^th 2010 – Strategic interactive research and technology company Vision Critical launched its 2010 intern program with twelve young Client Services Associates who will be based in their offices across North America. The interns are all graduates of US and Canadian colleges with degrees in marketing, research, sociology or business.

Jennifer Reid, SVP, Strategy at Vision Critical has masterminded the initiative designing the program structure and recruitment strategy, and overseeing the program. Reid went through a similar intern program at Angus Reid Group and recognizes the value of engaging young researchers early in their careers.

Supporting Growth

Unlike many intern programs which have hit the news for tapping the recent graduate pool as a source of temporary cheap labor, the Vision Critical program is fully funded and an integral element of the company growth strategy. Interns are salaried and rotate through the company to develop a well rounded view of the different research and panel functions. International internships and placements are expected in the future.

“Vision Critical has a game changing portfolio of research solutions that has fueled our expansion strategy across North America, Europe and Australia,” says Reid. “We need a program to support our growth and foster future innovators and business leaders. We have hand-picked a group who are all highly educated, refreshingly confident and professional. My goal is to open their eyes to the creative opportunities of market research and to get them excited about delivering consumer insights in new and innovative ways.”

Interns went through a rigorous series of hoops before being accepted onto the program. As well as the standard interview process interns were expected to deliver a five minute presentation on one of the Vision Critical research capabilities. The interns will be keeping a blog of their experiences.

Andrea Wong and Betty Desta are interning with Vision Critical New York. Wong who graduated from the Binghamton University MBA program caught the market research bug during her Masters program. According to Wong, “I began to realize the power of consumer insight during some of my practical assignments at Binghamton. The Vision Critical intern program seemed like an ideal fast track to gain a comprehensive understanding of the most current and innovative consumer research capabilities.”

Betty Desta who graduated from Pace University also knew she wanted to specialize in research, “My previous internships were spent working on consumer research projects. Once I realized that this was my passion I looked for opportunities with lots of potential for career growth. Vision Critical seemed the perfect fit.”

Andrew Reid President and Founder

Vancouver July 13th – Interactive research and technology firm Vision Critical is proud to announce that Andrew Reid, President and Founder of Vision Critical, is a Pacific finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year Award.

Andrew Reid, the son of Canadian market research icon Angus Reid, was one of the pioneers of online market research. With a background in internet advertising, a lifetime exposure to the market research industry and inheriting his father’s “firecracker” ambition and visionary tendencies, Reid saw the opportunity to use the web as a way to improve market research for both the client and the respondent.

Reid started Vision Critical in 2000 and the company has since become a leader in online research; its Sparq research platform is being used by 25% of the world’s top brands. Vision Critical was the first company to leverage online branded panels, recruiting consumers as members of brand-sponsored research programs. Unique among its competitors, Vision Critical is a technology driven research company with veteran researchers working side-by-side with technologists to develop and shape products and services for the market research industry.
TITLE: Andrew Reid is Pacific finalist in Entrepreneur of the Year 2010

Andrew Reid leads a company culture that embraces passion, diversity and quirkiness. More commonly found in a t-shirt than a tie, Andrew believes that outperforming the competition doesn’t require outspending them, just outsmarting them.

Reid believes there is a better way to undertake market research – making it more accessible to researchers and more engaging for respondents. “Everyone should be able to make an informed decision.” said Reid. “We saw a huge opportunity to speed up and simplify our clients’ research experience and deliver visual online surveys that are fun and easy to understand.”

Now in its 10^th year Vision Critical has expanded well beyond it original Vancouver headquarters with over 400 employees and offices across Canada, the US, Australia, and Europe.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards recognizes high-achieving entrepreneurs in Canada and around the world who drive growth, transform industries and build communities. The Canadian program is in its 17th year of honoring the country’s most impressive entrepreneurs from all areas of business.

The names of the Pacific winners will be announced at a gala banquet in Vancouver on September 28, and the overall winner will represent the region at the national banquet in Toronto on November 17.

Patricia Hughes, Vision Critical will discuss the ways research panels address the need for faster insight, how respondent engagement improves response and supports brands, with both quantitative and qualitative results. 

During the event Vision Critical will showcase their Shopper Insight solutions in the Exhibit Hall:

• Proprietary and national online shopper panels which enable CPG manufacturers and retailers to talk to specific consumer segments or targeted retail shoppers.
• Virtual shelf-sets, both 3D or 2D, for testing packaging, placement, pricing, in-store advertising and signage. 

To celebrate the Shopper Insight event Vision Critical will also be hosting an after-party at Chicago’s hottest rooftop deck – ZED-451 on Monday July 12^th.

Vision Critical the interactive research and technology firm launches ReactionPlus a game changing approach to audio and video testing. Researchers can now measure reaction to audio and video content on multiple dimensions, second-by-second and with rapid results. 

ReactionPlus has been developed for content producers who need an efficient, cost-effective way of vetting a regular stream of content and has been beta tested with some of the world’s top media brands. 

Jason Smith, President, Product Innovation, says ReactionPlus was developed in response to conversations with Vision Critical media clients, “It is hard to manage audience testing cost effectively and with clear enough insights to make the big decisions quickly.  Where did the audience get confused? What was the most amusing and why? Were they bored, engaged, or annoyed at that point or this point? Our clients wanted those answers, quickly and inexpensively, and from thousands of people across different parts of the world.”

What is so different? 

The new testing tool captures respondent feedback across up to ten different dimensions to create a richer view of which feelings are being triggered throughout the programming.  Unlike two dimensional dial testing the new tool can  uncover which words, images and sounds trigger engagement, as well as at what point a storyline captures or loses its audience, and which presenters have most appeal and why.   

This product can pinpoint whether calls to action are being noticed, if the laughs are coming in the right places, or if design elements are distracting more significant messages. By using online panels and interactive software Reaction Plus offers the insight of a focus group but without the cost or time delay.

How it Works

Respondents watch or listen to content and input reactions into a user-friendly graphical interface. Reactions and feelings are recorded moment-to-moment as programming plays.

Immediate feedback is followed by a summary evaluation following content exposure. Audiences are also segmented (core, casual, non-users or demos) to help clarify how the content appeals to specific targets.

Reports are generated automatically and are instantly available online through an interactive reporting portal.  Content and results are stored in one central location for easy review:

• Overall Reaction Score – allowing you to benchmark results vs. other content
• Moment-by-moment visualization of results
• Net Promoter Score – see what has the potential to go viral
• Reaction among audience segments, and more.

ReactionPlus can be used for promo and teaser testing, on-air talent/personality testing, feature testing, in-program messaging (IPM), TV and radio ads, and web content including podcasts or online video.

Andrew Reid, President and Founder of Vision Critical and Jason Smith, President of Innovation will share their views about the latest trends and innovations in market research and game changing developments from Vision Critical.

Vision Critical’s research products will be on display including Sparq, IdeaScreenPlus and Virtual Shopping.  The demos will all be hands on so clients will get the chance to test-drive the latest research innovations.

A new study from interactive research and technology firm Vision Critical looks at the features that would get consumers excited about the iPhone.

The online survey of more than 4,000 adults across the US, UK and Canada was conducted on June 16 and 17, following Apple’s announcement of the new iPhone 4. The new phone will feature a higher resolution screen and front facing camera but no FM tuner. An FM tuner would allow users to listen to local radio stations without going online and incurring data charges.

Consumers who already own or are likely to get a smartphone in the next six months were asked to choose from a list of possible features which are not being offered on the new iPhone 4. The FM tuner was one of the most popular features across all countries surveyed.

According to Jeff Vidler, Senior Vice-President & Managing Director, Radio, Vision Critical, “If the rumors of an FM patent are correct, it looks like Apple is preparing itself for an inevitable future.”

Interest in an FM tuner is particularly high in Canada. The feature ranked 1st choice among Canadian smartphone owners and intenders with 43% identifying it as one of the features in which they would be most interested. In the UK a tuner tied as 2nd most popular feature with 34% expressing interest, and in the US it tied for 4th with 30% of Americans saying they would be interested.

Vidler suggests two reasons for the higher interest in the FM tuner in Canada. “First, mobile data charges are higher in Canada. This makes a non-streaming radio option especially attractive for Canadian smartphone users. But it may also be that local FM radio itself remains more attractive to smartphone users in Canada than in the US and the UK where music streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify have taken the spotlight for smartphone users.” Due to royalty agreements, neither Pandora nor Spotify are legally available in Canada.

Among the features that are being offered by the new iPhone, longer battery life generates by far the greatest interest among smartphone owners and intenders: USA at 49%, Canada at 62% and UK at 57%; the next most popular features are a faster processor power and multitasking abilities.

Results are taken from an online survey on June 16 and 17 of 4,053 adults, using nationally representative samples from Vision Critical’s panels in the US, UK and Canada. A total of 1,004 adults were surveyed in the US; 2,018 in the UK; and 1,004 in Canada. Subsamples of smartphone owners and intenders were as follows: 428 in the US; 771 in the UK; and 356 in Canada.

Jack O’dwyer from Odwyerpr.com has written an event summary, detailing Angus Reid’s presentation on social media as well as the release of Angus Reid Public Opinion’s latest study on corporate reputation. ReputationPlus is a diagnostic reputation measurement and management approach that provides guidance for gaining a reputation edge. Through its proprietary segmentations, ReputationPlus provides unique stakeholder perspectives critical to understanding the rapidly changing world.

The Backlash Blues breakfast event took place in New York City at the Bryant Park Restaurant on June 15th. Along with featured results from the Reputation Plus study, attendees were shown the latest crop of corporate bad boys and found out which companies and sections are winning the battle for reputation and why.

Yola Zdanowicz, Managing Director Health commented, “The EphMRA conference is a terrific forum for knowledge sharing, recalibrating perceptions of industry issues and priorities, and catching up with global clients and partners. This year’s backdrop of shifting economic, political, and regulatory landscapes should make for a fascinating event.”

Vision Critical Health provides global consulting and strategic research services to pharmaceutical companies.