Even Though Consumers Generally Trust Technology Companies, 78% of Americans and 77% of Britons Believe They Should Take More Action to Address the Consequences of Their Policies, Practices and Products

HONGKONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 18 June 2019 - FleishmanHillard today released "Darlings to Damaged? Managing theTechnology Sector's Reputation in an Age of Heightened Scrutiny," a new report assessing the reputationalchallenges technology companies face today, as well as potential solutions tothose challenges in the future. The report follows FleishmanHillard Presidentand CEO John Saunders', recent discussion by the same nameat the Collision tech conference in Toronto.

"Technologyadvancements have enabled life-saving innovations, boosted productivity,reduced the consumption of natural resources and more, but we wanted to take astep back and look at some of the unintended consequences of those benefits,and their subsequent impact on the tech sector's reputation," Saunders said. "Consumersare becoming more aware of data collection and how that information is beingshared; tech companies are trying to address any impact they've had throughgreater collaboration and transparency; businesses are navigating through theimpacts of artificial intelligence; governments are considering new ways ofmanaging the sector through legislation and regulation. Through qualitative andquantitative research, our report explores consumer sentiment and business solutionsin this current environment of heightened scrutiny."  

As part ofthe report, FleishmanHillard TRUE Global Intelligence™ conducted a survey and found that whilethere has been a lot of attention and conversation around the so-called techlash,82% of U.S. and 79% of U.K. consumers still generally trust technologycompanies. That said, there is some generationaland country divide. In the U.S., the younger generations are more skeptical,with 26% of Gen Z and 22% of millennials saying they lack trust in technologycompanies. That's flipped in the U.K., where the older generations have lesstrust, with 38% of the silent generation lacking trust versus 13% ofmillennials.

The researchdid show a common path forward, with 70% of Americans and Britons saying they'dview technology companies more favorably if they were to take more action toaddress the consequences of their policies, practices and products. Regulationmay also play an important role, with almost a third of respondents thinkingthat technology companies are regulated too little. Further, it was revealedthat some Britons may believe American companies could learn something from theBritish -- 60% of Britons believe that U.K. technology companies are regulatedabout the right amount, with only 32% saying they're regulated too little.Fewer Britons, 54%, believe U.S. companies are regulated the right amount, and39% believe they need to be regulated more.

Thereport's findings combine original research with insights from some of theworld's leading thinkers in this space, including the CEO of the ConsumerTechnology Association, the CIO of Canada, a Harvard professor and many more.

Thereport explores topics including:

• Consumers' generallevel of trust in technology and generational differences;
• Actions consumersexpect companies to take to build trust in this space;
• The role ofself-regulation, responsibility and shared value in addressing the currentreputational challenges;
• The macroeconomicand geopolitical situation more broadly;
• How regulation andlegislation might play a role in rebuilding trust;
• What actionsshould be taken to ensure AI is a benefit to business and society; and
• The convenienceof hyper-personalization, weighed against security risk and data protection needs

"Ascompanies navigate the increasingly complex environment, the best approach isto commit to being transparent, and to work collaboratively with government,regulators and academia," Saunders said. "At the end of the day, it comes downto always doing the right thing, and ensuring you're operating with the highestethical standards and in the best interest of your stakeholders."

FleishmanHillard's "Darlings to Damaged?" reportincludes qualitative and quantitative data. FleishmanHillard TRUE Global Intelligence™ conducted asurvey among a nationally representative sample of 1,002 adults each in theU.S. and U.K., 18 years of age and older. The U.S. sample is demographicallybalanced for age, sex, geographic region, race and education. The U.K. sampleis demographically balanced for age and sex. The surveys were fielded online inApril and May of 2019.

About FleishmanHillard

FleishmanHillard specializes in public relations, reputation management, public affairs,brand marketing, digital strategy, social engagement and content strategy.FleishmanHillard was named Agency of the Year at the 2017 and 2018 NorthAmerican Excellence Awards; 2017 and 2018 ICCO Network of the Year for theAmericas; 2019 PRWeek U.S. Outstanding Large Agency; 2019 Holmes Report NorthAmerica Large Agency of the Year; 2018 Large Consultancy of the Year by PRWeekUK; PR News' Best Places to Work in PR 2016-2018; Human Rights Campaign BestPlaces to Work for LGBTQ Equality for 2018 and 2019; PR Awards Asia 2017Greater China Agency of the Year; and NAFE's "Top Companies for ExecutiveWomen" for 2010-2019. The firm's award-winning work is widely heralded,including at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity. FleishmanHillardis part of Omnicom Public Relations Group, and has more than 80 offices in 30countries, plus affiliates in 43 countries.​

About Omnicom Public Relations Group

Omnicom Public Relations Group is a global collective of three of the topglobal public relations agencies worldwide and specialist agencies in areasincluding public affairs, marketing to women, global health strategy andcorporate social responsibility. It encompasses more than 6,300 publicrelations professionals in more than 370 offices worldwide who provide theirexpertise to companies, government agencies, NGOs and non-profits across a widerange of industries. Omnicom Public Relations Group delivers for clientsthrough a relentless focus on talent, continuous pursuit of innovation and aculture steeped in collaboration. Omnicom Public Relations Group is part of theDAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) that includesmore than 200 companies in a wide range of marketing disciplines includingadvertising, public relations, healthcare, customer relationship management,events, promotional marketing, branding and research.