I recently attended a BMA (Business Marketing Association) Chicago luncheon meeting, presented by Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman PR, the world’s largest independent public relations agency.

Edelman spoke about findings from the ninth annual Edelman Trust Barometer:

– Business and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are trusted more than government

– Young opinion elites show higher levels of trust in business than older elites and rely on multiple sources of information to form opinions about companies.

– Communications today requires top-down and peer-to-peer spokespeople. All ages trust word of mouth.

– Social media is growing, though mainstream media is still the most widely used and believed for information about companies.

– The new reputation makers can be either advocates for companies they trust or naysayers against those they distrust. Companies must evolve “reputation management” into “reputation leadership,” working proactively to build stakeholder trust.

– The gap between trust in U.S. business and government is at its widest in Trust Barometer history. Wikipedia is the second most credible source for young Americans.

– NGOs have a trust advantage in most European countries, with differences seen in Eastern Europe.

– China’ s economic influence on the world and the region is enormous, but trust in Chinese companies is at an all-time low.

– Canada’s and Latin American’s levels of trust in business are among the highest in the world.

For the first time, the 2008 Trust Barometer included young people (ages 25 to 34). Historically cynical toward business, the young “info-entials” who participated in the survey indicated they trusted business more than their older counterparts. Edelman said that finding revealed a great opportunity for business to communicate its story to this demographic, for whom sharing information is an everyday activity.

Richard Edelman also discussed how communicators are being challenged to think and act differently in a new age of communications where the audience “is on the field and ready to play in the game.” No longer can brands just focus on talking to their stakeholders; now they must engage in a participatory dialogue with them.