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PR Leaders believe that the recent riots will have a significant impact on London’s reputation internationally. The good news for London is that they believe that the impact will be short term and that the commercial impact on the on corporate investment around the Olympics will be limited.
In a survey of heads of PR professionals conducted by the PRCA following the disturbances, nearly two thirds of all respondents (63%) agreed that whilst London’s reputation had been significantly damaged, only 16% believed that damage would be long lasting.
The short lived nature of the impact was reflected in the panellists’ comprehensive response that the riots would have no effect or only a slight decline on corporate investment around the London Olympics, with only 8% believing there would be any significant impact.
The PR Leaders’ reaction to the nation’s political response was disappointment, with the panel unimpressed that none of the party leaders or two main mayoral candidates responded well to the crisis. Respondents rated the leaders on a 1-5 scale on their response to the London riots. The total scores for the leaders were as follows (multiplying the score by % of respondents, i.e. the higher the number the better the response, with a decent response equalling a 3.00):
Ken Livingstone – 1.35
David Cameron- 2.01
Ed Miliband – 2.01
Nick Clegg – 2.04
Boris Johnson – 2.33
Francis Ingham, PRCA Chief Executive, said: “The riots have been a PR disaster for London and its leaders. As we address the underlying causes of the riots, we must also invest in rebuilding this great city’s reputation with business and tourism alike. We have the most talented PR in the world, let’s use it.”
1. WHAT IMPACT WILL THE RIOTS HAVE ON LONDON'S INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION?
|
Answer |
Rate |
|
Significant, long-term impact |
16% |
|
Significant, short-term impact |
47% |
|
Small, long-term impact |
16% |
|
Small, short-term impact |
21% |
2. WHAT EFFECT WILL THE RIOTS HAVE ON CORPORATE INVESTMENT AROUND THE 2012 OLYMPICS?
|
Answer |
|
Rate |
|
None |
|
40% |
|
Significant decline |
|
8% |
|
Slight decline |
|
52% |
3. PLEASE RATE (OUT OF 5: 1= POOR, 5= VERY WELL) HOW WELL DAVID CAMERON RESPONDED TO THE RIOTS:
|
Answer |
|
Rate |
|
1 |
|
29% |
|
2 |
|
50% |
|
3 |
|
14% |
|
4 |
|
5% |
5 2%
4. PLEASE RATE (OUT OF 5) HOW WELL NICK CLEGG RESPONDED TO THE RIOTS:
|
Answer |
Rate |
|
1 |
31% |
|
2 |
44% |
|
3 |
18% |
|
4 |
4% |
|
5 |
3% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
5. PLEASE RATE (OUT OF 5) HOW WELL ED MILIBAND RESPONDED TO THE RIOTS:
|
Answer |
|
Rate |
|
1 |
|
42% |
|
2 |
|
26% |
|
3 |
|
21% |
|
4 |
|
11% |
6. PLEASE RATE (OUT OF 5) HOW WELL BORIS JOHNSON RESPONDED TO THE RIOTS:
|
Answer |
|
Rate |
|
1 |
|
29% |
|
2 |
|
31% |
|
3 |
|
26% |
|
4 |
|
6% |
|
5 |
|
8% |
7. PLEASE RATE (OUT OF 5) HOW WELL KEN LIVINGSTONE RESPONDED TO THE RIOTS:
|
Answer |
Rate |
|
|
1 |
|
68% |
|
2 |
|
29% |
|
3 |
|
3% |
Footnote: Results were calculated by multiplying the percentage of responses to the correlating score and the adding results together to create the score. The answers were 1-5, with 1.0 the lowest possible score and 5.0 the highest.
For example:
David Cameron
1 = 0.29
2= 1.0
3 = 0.42
4= 0.2
5= 0.1
Total = 2.01
- ENDS -
Notes for Editors
Media enquiries - please contact Tom Hawkins, Research and Policy Executive - tom.hawkins@prca.org.uk / 020 7233 6026
About the PRCA
Who we are: Founded in 1969, the PRCA is the professional body that represents UK PR consultancies, in-house communications teams and PR freelancers. The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations and internal communications work, helping teams and individuals maximise the value they deliver to clients and organisations.
What we do: The Association exists to raise standards in PR and communications, providing members with industry data, facilitating the sharing of communications best practice and creating networking opportunities.
How we do it and make a difference: All PRCA members are bound by a professional charter and codes of conduct, and benefit from exceptional training. The Association also works for the greater benefit of the industry, sharing best practice and lobbying on the industry's behalf e.g. fighting the NLA's digital licence.
Who we represent: The PRCA represents many of the major consultancies in the UK, and currently has more than 230 agency members from around the world including the majority of the top 100 UK consultancies. We also represent around 60 in-house communications teams from multinationals, UK charities and leading UK public sector organisations
