Cybersecurity among the most important reputation drivers for organisations in PHL

A new study by Sandpiper Communications (“Sandpiper”) released today finds that Cybersecurity is now the third most important reputational driver in the Philippines, with 97% of consumers in the country saying it plays an important role in shaping their opinion of an organisation.

The study, based on a survey of 6,000 consumers across 11 markets in Asia Pacific, reveals out of ten reputational factors, Cybersecurity now ranks in its importance to Filipino consumers just behind Quality of Products and Services and Customer Service (both at 98%), and ahead of Financial Performance (96%).

The markets where Cybersecurity is important to the most consumers are Indonesia and the Philippines both at 97%, followed by Thailand and India both at 95%. Even in the markets where this trend is least prominent, relatively high numbers of consumers still see Cybersecurity as an important factor, with the lowest rates in Singapore (88%), Australia (86%), and Japan (81%).

When looking at how Cybersecurity is impacting buyer behaviour for different industries, Cybersecurity is the most important for consumers when dealing with organisations in the financial services and technology industries.

Increasing Importance of Employer Brand in the ‘Great Resignation’ 

When looking at how negative public attention for an organisation around the ten reputational factors affects its ability to attract talent, Employee Experience ranks highest with 58% of Filipino consumers saying they would be unwilling to work for an organisation with past known issues in this area. This factor is closely followed by issues with Governance (58% unwilling), Cybersecurity (56% unwilling) and Organisational Leadership (53% unwilling).

When combined, negative attention around ESG factors (Environmental, Social, Governance) for a company would also drive 67% of people in the Philippines to be unwilling to work for a company.

The study further reveals Employee Experience to be a top five driver of consumer’s overall opinion of an organisation in Australia, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and Singapore. Conversely, more than one quarter of people in Japan (27%) and around one in five in Hong Kong (18%) and Australia (17%) say it’s not important. This is more important to younger generations than older generations, with 78% of Gen Zers across the Philippines saying it is very important to shaping their opinions, compared with 61% of baby boomers.

Growing Focus on Corporate Citizenship

The research further finds that across the Philippines the vast majority of people (90%) confirmed COVID-19 has increased their interest in ESG and sustainability issues. In the Philippines, 93% and 88% of people said showing Environmental Impact and Economic Impact are important factors in shaping their opinion of an organisation respectively, followed by Social Impact (90%).

Of those in the region who consider Environmental Impact to be important, the numbers are highest in the Philippines (93%), India (92%), Indonesia (92%) and Thailand (86%). Conversely around a third of those in Japan (36%) and Hong Kong SAR (30%), do not see this as important at all.

The study finds similar trends for Social Impact. Again, it is most important as a reputational factor to consumers in the same four markets: Philippines (90%), Indonesia (89%), India (88%) and Thailand (86%). It is a neutral, or not important issue for more than one quarter of respondents in Japan (29%), Hong Kong SAR (27%), Singapore (26%), and Australia (26%).

Overall, the report finds that ESG and sustainability considerations are seen as more important reputational drivers in emerging and developing markets, than in the region’s more mature markets. They are also slightly more important to younger generations.

Emma Smith, CEO, Sandpiper Communications, said: “The rising importance of factors such as cybersecurity, employer brand and corporate citizenship in shaping public perceptions of an organisation reflects the increasingly complex business environment across Asia Pacific. More transparency is being demanded of organisations, and its increasingly important for attracting customers and talent to show positive societal impact. Our research shows the global pandemic has amplified consumers’ focus on and awareness of corporate reputation.

She continued, “Our study reinforces the principle that applies to all organisations and brands – that by investing in your reputation you protect and build up capital that helps open doors and provides useful preparation for facing challenges.”

Research methodology

For this study we conducted an online survey with 6,000 consumers from 11 Asia Pacific markets: Australia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The study was conducted double-blind across September and October 2021 and all respondents understood their contribution was anonymous and unattributable.

The ten reputation factors focused on in the research are: Cybersecurity, Customer Service, Economic Impact, Environmental Impact, Employee Experience, Financial Performance, Governance, Leadership Team, Product and Service Quality, and Social Impact.

This study is published as Sandpiper is named Fastest Growing Agency of the Year and 2021 Asia Pacific Agency of the Year by PR Week, and a Best Place to Work and Asia Pacific Corporate and Public Affairs Agency of the Year by Provoke in 2021.