Economic News/Trends and Analysis — June 25, 2009

Reputations of Canadian-Owned Firms Rise During Turbulent Economic Times; Banking Sector Makes Large Gains

    Study Reveals Critical Link between Reputation and Word of Mouth Support
    in Driving Bottom Line Results

    TORONTO, June 25 /CNW/ - Amidst turbulent times in corporate Canada this
year, Canadian-owned companies' reputations have remained strong in the minds
of Canadians. In a global survey conducted by Reputation Institute earlier
this year, the corporate reputations of the largest Canadian-owned companies
generally improved with the banking sector showing particularly strong gains
in admiration, respect and trust with Canadian consumers.
    "As corporate scandals continue to weigh heavily on people's minds, while
they lose their jobs and savings in the current financial crisis, a strong
corporate reputation is no longer a 'nice to have', but rather, absolutely
essential to business success," said Rob Jekielek, Principal, Reputation
Institute. "This year's Canadian results not only illustrate a strong
relationship between the strength of a company's reputation and how likely
consumers are to recommend that company, but also show that corporate ethics/
transparency has now become even more important than products/services in
managing corporate reputation with Canadian consumers."
    Two Canadian companies that stood out included Shoppers Drug Mart and
Royal Bank. Shoppers moved into the top tier of global corporate reputations
joining reputation leaders like Johnson & Johnson and IKEA, while Royal Bank,
whose reputation improved from average to strong, showed the best improvement
from 2008 to 2009 among the most reputable Canadian companies.
    In addition, top Canadian reputation companies saw direct benefits from
their reputation as consumers were twice as likely to both recommend and the
give benefit of the doubt to Canadian companies with strong reputations vs.
Canadian companies with poor reputations.

    Key highlights from 2009 Canadian Global Reputation Pulse study include:

    -   For the first time, Governance (ethics/transparency) was the most
        important dimension of Reputation for Canadian consumers, moving
        ahead of Products/Services
    -   Canadian Tire and the Jean Coutu Group continue to have strong
        reputations.
    -   Bombardier is the highest ranked company with significant
        international visibility.
    -   Canadian banks saw large increases in reputation scores; RBC having
        the top score, and having the biggest gain among most reputable
        Canadian companies, while BMO made the largest improvement in the
        overall study.
    -   The telecommunications sector (represented by TELUS, Rogers, Bell
        Canada and Nortel) has the weakest reputation in the minds of the
        public.

    Building a Strong Reputation
    ----------------------------

    The Global Reputation Pulse study proves that excellent reputations are
built across seven dimensions of reputation: Products/Services, Innovation,
Governance, Workplace, Citizenship, Leadership and Performance. It further
shows that to establish a solid reputation, it is essential that companies
address all seven dimensions.
    The most influential reputation dimension for Canadian consumers is
Governance (ethics/transparency), pushing ahead of Products / Services for the
first time. This year Leadership and Financial Performance were also
increasingly important in building reputation. However to earn trust,
admiration, good feeling and support companies need to address all seven
dimensions of reputation. In Canada, each one alone accounts for over 12
percent of reputation.

    Global Reputation Pulse - Largest Canadian Owned Companies
    ----------------------------------------------------------

    -----------------------------------------------
                                            Global
    Rank          Company                   Pulse
                                            Score
    -----------------------------------------------
     1      Shoppers Drug Mart              80.56
     2      Jean Coutu Group                79.54
     3      Canadian Tire                   76.28
     4      Bombardier                      73.36
     5      RBC Royal Bank                  70.26
     6      George Weston Limited (Weston)  70.25
     7      Canadian National Railway       69.35
     8      Metro                           69.22
     9      TD Canada Trust                 68.99
     10     EnCana                          68.78
     11     Husky Energy                    68.06
     12     Manulife                        67.49
     13     Couche-Tard                     66.72
     14     Sun Life Financial              66.64
     15     BMO Bank of Montreal            64.31
     16     Scotiabank                      63.81
     17     Petro-Canada                    60.75
     18     Hydro Quebec                    60.47
     19     Power Corp.                     60.27
     20     Enbridge                        59.59
     21     CIBC                            55.44
     22     Air Canada                      55.25
     23     Telus                           53.94
     24     Rogers Communications           53.74
     25     Bell Canada (BCE)               49.21
     26     Nortel                          36.20
    -----------------------------------------------

    About the Global Reputation Pulse 2009 Study

    Reputation Institute's 2009 Global Reputation Pulse is the largest study
of corporate reputations in the world, identifying what drives reputation and
covering more than 1,000 companies from 32 countries annually. The 2009 Global
Reputation Pulse 2009 was conducted online in late January and February 2009.
A Pulse score is a measure of corporate reputation calculated by averaging
perceptions of four indicators trust, esteem, admiration, and good feeling
obtained from a representative sample of at least 100 local respondents who
were familiar with the company. Scores range from a low of 0 to a high of 100,
Pulse scores that differ by more than +/-0.5 are significantly different at
the 95% confidence level. The 2009 average for the largest Canadian companies
measured, 64.17, was just under the Global mean for all companies included in
the study, 64.20. Complimentary reports on Global and Canadian Global
Reputation Pulse findings can be downloaded at www.ReputationInstitute.com.

    About Reputation Institute

    Reputation Institute is the world's leading reputation consulting firm.
As a pioneer in the field of corporate brand and reputation management,
Reputation Institute helps companies unlock the power of reputation. With a
presence in more than 25 countries, Reputation Institute is dedicated to
advancing knowledge about reputation and shares best practices and current
research through client engagement, memberships, seminars, conferences, and
publications such as Corporate Reputation Review. Reputation Institute
provides reputation insight and expertise across from more than 15 different
stakeholder groups and 24 industries, allowing clients to create tangible
value from intangible stakeholder feelings. Visit www.ReputationInstitute.com
to learn how you can unlock the power of your reputation.

For further information: Susan Quinn-Mullins, Reputation Institute,
(905) 466-5296, sqmullins@reputationinstitute.com; Allison Young, Reputation
Institute, (212) 931-6111, ayoung@reputationinstitute.com

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