1. Simplified Understanding April 2014 ASSOCIATION AND AWARENESS PERCEPTION STUDY

2. Western focus – we eat, breath, sleep and live the west and know the market, the brands and the consumers Senior level team – credibility in the market, broad range and depth of research expertise and specific experience Insights West: A Brief Introduction Progressive, full-service market research company offering insights-driven research solutions and interpretative analysis through leading-edge tools, normative databases and senior level expertise. 2

3. Insights West: A Brief Introduction (cont.) 3 Tools and normative databases: proven approaches and context for your results Great value: lower costs for very high calibre work Strong Partnerships: allows us to conduct national and international studies easily Technology enabled: mobile engaged panel and expertise with social media, digital and online Strong industry expertise: across a variety of sectors Size : small enough to be nimble, flexible and innovative but big enough to handle large, complex projects Our own consumer panel: over 13,000 in BC and AB and growing

4. Some of Our Tools 4 Brand Digital Insights Brand reputation, ad tracking and digital reputation together in one tool Creative Test Insights Quantitative, reliable measurement of effectiveness of creative against a normative database Video Insights Adds qualitative insights to online surveys through use of video captured by panellists Employee Satisfaction Insights Straightforward and insightful tool for measuring employee satisfaction against regional and national benchmarks

5. God Angels Heaven UFOs do exist Ghosts Cure for Cancer has been found but is being withheld Satan John F. Kennedy assassination Death of Princess Diana was an assassination Human being has been cloned 9/11 US government conspiracy Lottery is rigged Lunar landings were a hoax Dinosaurs never existed Base: British Columbia Adults (n=867) Q. How much do you, personally, believe or disbelieve each of the following conspiracy theories that some people believe? What People Say and Believe is Quite Amazing… 5 Believe completelyBelieve somewhat

6. Top 10 Findings 6 1)Awareness/Familiarity of IABC is low: only half of business leaders are aware of IABC, and familiarity is even lower. 6)That being said, 53% of marketing decision- makers feel there is some value that IABC brings. 2)However, other more well-known, organizations (BCAMA,CPRS, SME,AIM, etc.) also struggle with the same issues. 7)Decision-makers divided on value of professional communicators overall, and the value of the designation. 3)Overall ratings of IABC among those familiar are about the same as other organizations that struggle with low familiarity. 8)Although perceptions are tough to gauge, IABC is seen to be professional, intelligent, honest and in-touch, but also seen as boring, exclusive, and not too inspiring. 4)Familiarity of the ABC designation among marketing decision-makers is strikingly low- 48% never heard of, and a further 27% not at all familiar. 9)When hiring, perception is that IABC membership doesn’t matter. 5)Not surprising, value of designation seen as low as well—only a third as high as CMA/CPA/CGA. 10)All being said, marketing functions are seen to be very important—websites, employee communications, social media and advertising are tops.

7. Simplified Understanding DETAILED FINDINGS

8. Simplified Understanding Perception and Familiarity

9. The Vancouver Board of Trade has the highest familiarity of the professional associations. Professional Association Familiarity 9 Base: All respondents (n=200) A1. How aware and familiar are you with each of the following professional organizations? Never Heard Of The Vancouver Board of Trade 4% Your Local Chamber of Commerce 3% Certified General Accountants of British Columbia (CGA) 4% Chartered Accountants of Canada (CA) 5% Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA) 8% The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) 6% Certified Management Accountants of British Columbia (CMA) 12% Sales & Marketing Executives (SME) 43% Very familiarSomewhat familiarNot very familiarNot at all familiar FamiliarNot Familiar

10. Just over half of business leaders in BC are aware of IABC. However, relatively few are familiar with what the association does. Professional Association Familiarity (cont.) 10 Base: All respondents (n=200) A1. How aware and familiar are you with each of the following professional organizations? Never Heard Of BC Chapter of the American Marketing Association (BCAMA) 46% Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) 42% Canadian Public Relations Society(CPRS) 44% International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) 46% Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) 50% Association of Integrated Marketers (AIM) 48% Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) 46% Board of Change 61% Very familiarSomewhat familiarNot very familiarNot at all familiar FamiliarNot Familiar

11. Almost one quarter of those familiar with IABC give the association a good overall rating. However, there is a higher percentage of those familiar who are unable to provide an overall rating. Overall Perception of Professional Association 11 *Small base size, interpret with caution; **Very small base size, interpret with extreme caution. Base: All respondents familiar with brand (n=varies) A2. How would you rate each of these professional associations overall on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is poor, and 10 is excellent? Don’t Know Top-3-Box (Excluding Don’t Know) Certified General Accountants of British Columbia (CGA) 30%62% The Vancouver Board of Trade 21%65%** Chartered Accountants of Canada (CA) 31%73%** Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA) 35%72% Your Local Chamber of Commerce 22%48% The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) 37%57% Certified Management Accountants of British Columbia (CMA) 31%58% Canadian Public Relations Society(CPRS) 41%59% International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) 38%35%** 10 – Excellent98

12. Though only about a quarter of those familiar give IABC a good rating overall, IABC received similar ratings to other communication associations such as the CPRS, BCAMA and AIM. Overall Perception of Professional Association (cont.) 12 *Small base size, interpret with caution; **Very small base size, interpret with extreme caution. Base: All respondents familiar with brand (n=varies) A2. How would you rate each of these professional associations overall on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is poor, and 10 is excellent? Don’t Know Top-3-Box (Excluding Don’t Know) Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) 43%51%** Sales & Marketing Executives (SME) 31%39%** BC Chapter of the American Marketing Association (BCAMA) 36%37% Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) 48%44%** Board of Change 59%37%** Association of Integrated Marketers (AIM) 46%16%* Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) 58%20%** 10 – Excellent98

13. There is relatively lower membership with IABC. Membership in Professional Associations 13 Base: All respondents (n=200) A3. Are you currently a paying member of any of the following associations? Your Local Chamber of Commerce The Vancouver Board of Trade Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA) Chartered Accountants of Canada (CA) Canadian Public Relations Society(CPRS) Certified General Accountants of British Columbia (CGA) BC Chapter of the American Marketing Association (BCAMA) International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Board of Change None Yes

14. And relatively few have participated in an event put on by IABC. Professional Association Event Participation 14 Base: All respondents (n=200) A4. In the past two years, have you participated in any events (conferences, speeches, luncheons, educational or networking events etc.) put on by any of the following associations? Your Local Chamber of Commerce The Vancouver Board of Trade Certified General Accountants of British Columbia (CGA) Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA) Chartered Accountants of Canada (CA) BC Chapter of the American Marketing Association (BCAMA) Association of Integrated Marketers (AIM) Canadian Public Relations Society(CPRS) Yes The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) Certified Management Accountants of British Columbia (CMA) Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Sales & Marketing Executives (SME) Board of Change Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) None

15. Simplified Understanding Designation Perception and Familiarity (Among Marketing Decision Makers)

16. Just over half of marketing decisions makers are aware of the ABC designation. However, less than one in ten are familiar with it. Professional Designation Familiarity 16 Base: Marketing Decision Makers (n=162) B1. How aware and familiar are you with each of the following professional designations? Never Heard Of CA – Charted Accountant – CGA – Certified General Accountant 2% CPA – Charted Professional Accountant 2% LL.B. – Bachelor of Laws degree 4% CMA – Certified Management Accountant 9% APR – Accredited in Public Relations 40% ABC – Accredited Business Communicator 48% Professional Certified Marketer TM 46% Very familiarSomewhat familiarNot very familiarNot at all familiar FamiliarNot Familiar

17. There is less value placed on having an ABC designation than for accounting or law. Value of Professional Designations 17 Don’t Know CA – Charted Accountant 6% LL.B. – Bachelor of Laws degree 8% CGA – Certified General Accountant 7% CPA – Charted Professional Accountant 7% CMA – Certified Management Accountant 10% APR – Accredited in Public Relations 21% ABC – Accredited Business Communicator 21% Professional Certified Marketer TM 23% 10 – Very valuable98 Base: Marketing Decision Makers (n=162) B2. How would you rate the value of each of these designations overall?

18. Over half of decision makers believe it would be valuable to have an association like IABC. IABC Importance and Value 18 Very valuable Somewhat valuable Not very valuable Not at all valuable Not applicable Base: Marketing Decision Makers (n=162) B4. Thinking generally, how valuable do you think it is for professional communicators to have an association like the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) that they can belong to? Base: Marketing Decision Makers (n=162) B3. Thinking about professional communicators in general, how important are they to your organization ? Valuable 53% Not Valuable 16% Value of IABC Very important Somewhat important Not very important Not at all important Not applicable Important 34% Not Important 31% Importance of Professional Communicators

19. Hiring decision makers are split on whether a professional designation is valuable for a candidate to have. Hiring Professional Communicators 19 Base: Marketing Decision Makers (n=162) B4. Please think about when you hire for individuals that are communicators – whether for an employee from your organization, a contractor or a firm you are hiring that has team members that will be acting as communicators in the work they do for you. How much value do you place on a candidate/firm having the professional designation for communicators – Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) Don’t Know Hiring a contractor to work for your organization 17% Hiring a firm to work as a subcontractor 19% Hiring someone for your organization 18% Very valuableSomewhat valuableNot very valuableNot at all valuable ValuableNot Valuable

20. Few have placed an ad with IABC due to low awareness and a lack of need. IABC Importance and Value 20 Base: Marketing Decision Makers (n=162) B5. Have you ever placed an ad with the IABC for a communications/marketing job posting? B5b. Why did you not place an ad with the IABC for a job posting? Please write your response in the box below. Placed Ad with IABC Reason for not Placing Ad with IABC “I needed to find a place where communications people specifically look for jobs. I needed to make sure the right target audience saw my posting.” “I was looking to fill a "Communications Manager" position.”

21. Among those familiar with IABC, intelligent, professional and honest are the top attributes associated with IABC. Attributes Associated with IABC 21 Base: Familiar with IABC (n=58)* *Small base size, interpret with caution. B6. Below are a series of contrasting attributes that could be used to describe an organization. For each of the attributes, please choose a dot closer towards the word that you believe best describes IABC. The closer the dot is to the word, the more you believe it describes IABC. IntelligentFoolish ProfessionalUnprofessional HonestDishonest In touchOut of touch FriendlyIntimidating EfficientInefficient Down to earthArrogant OpenSecretive FreshStagnant InspiringUninspiring CompassionateUncaring InclusiveExclusive ExcitingBoring StronglySomewhat Strongly

22. Currently, many decision makers do not find it important to hire communications professionals that are members of IABC. IABC/Accreditation Importance and Value 22 Very important Somewhat important Not very important Not at all important Not sure Base: Marketing Decision Makers (n=162) B7. All things considered, how important is it for you to hire communications professionals that are members of the IABC? Base: Marketing Decision Makers (n=162) B8. When choosing between two communications candidates of similar experience, would professional certification/accreditation play a role in your final decision? Value of IABC Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not Not sure Important 16% Not Important 58% Importance of Professional Communicators Part of Decision Process 49% No Part of Decision Process 34%

23. Nearly a quarter of decision makers say they would be more likely to hire a candidate that is ISO certified in communications. ISO Certification 23 Base: Marketing Decision Makers (n=162) B9. If a communications professional was ISO certified in communications, would you be more likely, just as likely, or less likely to hire them over a professional who was not ISO certified in communications?

24. A strong website is deemed to be the most important marketing communications activity within a company, followed by strong employee communications. Importance of Marketing Communications 24 Base: All respondents (n=200) A5. On a 5 point scale where 5 means “very important” and 1 means “not important at all,” how would you rate the importance of the following marketing communications activities within your company? Don’t Know Website2% Employee communications4% Social media2% Advertising2% Corporate communications4% Email marketing2% Issues management4% Stakeholder relations10% Media relations4% Brochures/printed materials1% Press releases4% Hiring communications professionals7% 10 – Very important98Not at all important – 123

25. Top Implications/Recommendations 25 2)xxx 7)xxx 4)xxx 5)xxx 6)xxx 3)xxx 1)xxx