Kekst CNC’s COVID 19 Opinion Tracker has become a key measure of public opinion throughout the current crisis, and an important tool for companies as they seek to understand changing attitudes towards established institutions, particular sectors, corporate and individual behaviour and considerations such as ESG.

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, both the media and general public looked to the most powerful businesses and their leaders, as a source of information and strength in the time of crisis.

The second edition of our international COVID-19 Opinion Tracker shows that the public continues to prioritise health over the economy in most countries.

At our first Kekst CNC focus group, broadcast on Times Radio last week, we asked a group of uncommitted voters across England what they thought about “ESG”.

Today, most offices and many industrial facilities remain shuttered. Employees are scattered in a state of enforced refuge and we are all leaning heavily on technology for continuity-of-business. The onslaught of Coronavirus has upended the way we operate. It has asked tough questions of organisations large and small across the world and hard decisions are made on a daily basis often in response to quickly changing Government guidance.

Being in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic does not make corporate financial reporting any easier. However, while challenging, the situation has not yet led to any radical changes in how companies present quarterly reports, apart from one major aspect –financial guidance. JKL Kekst CNC has analysed quarterly financial reports from January-March 2020 that were published by the 50 largest listed companies in Sweden. We compiled the financial guidance and outlooks provided and evaluated how each company communicated the effects of COVID-19 on their results. From this analysis, there are lessons to learn for the upcoming reporting season.

Asia’s unique media landscape is often deemed unfamiliar territory for Western audiences. Drawing on our global network, in our latest episode host Dominic Laurie is joined by colleagues from across our Asian offices in Japan, Hong Kong and China, who share their insights and experience of their home media and the landscape they operate in.

The COVID-19 crisis is the focus for almost every company across the world. That is true for media organisations as much as anyone else. At very few times in modern human history has the news agenda been dominated by a single story for so long.

Global Thinking is a new podcast by Kekst CNC. Special guests and our experts around the world will be sharing their insights on the latest opportunities and challenges relating to communications.

München, 15.06.2020 – Deutschland ist Weltmeister – zumindest im Corona-Krisenmanagement. In der internationalen Wahrnehmung, aber auch aus Sicht der eigenen Bevölkerung, hat Deutschland die Krise mit Abstand am besten gemeistert. Das hat die dritte internationale COVID-19-Umfrage von Kekst CNC, der internationalen Beratung für strategische Kommunikation, unter 6.000 Erwachsenen in Deutschland, Großbritannien, Schweden, Frankreich, Japan und den USA ergeben.

München, 11.05.2020 – Das Corona-Virus wird das Leben langfristig und nachhaltig verändern. Zwei Drittel (66%) der deutschen Öffentlichkeit erwarten, dass die Überwindung der Krise mehr als ein Jahr dauern wird – und damit die Auswirkungen der Pandemie auf Wirtschaft, Konsum- und Freizeitverhalten deutlich länger andauern und einschneidender sind als zunächst erwartet. Das zeigt die zweite internationale COVID-19-Umfrage der strategischen Kommunikationsberatung Kekst CNC, die neben einem internationalen Vergleich insbesondere die zeitliche Entwicklung der Haltung der Bevölkerung nachzeichnet.

München, 14.04.2020 - Die überwiegende Mehrheit der deutschen Öffentlichkeit fordert, dass die Bundesregierung vorrangig die Verbreitung des Coronavirus eindämmen und Leben retten sollte – selbst um den Preis schwerwiegender wirtschaftlicher Folgen. Das zeigt die erste internationale COVID-19-Umfrage der strategischen Kommunikationsberatung Kekst CNC, die heute vorgestellt wurde.

What impact has COVID-19 had on ESG? Has it become more important or less? Have priorities of investors – and the public – shifted? Is climate protection still ‘number one’? And how are leading businesses in this space changing their ESG policies and priorities?

Shareholder activism has surged in Japan over the past few years. In addition to the increasing number of activist campaigns, a record 65 Japanese companies received shareholder proposals during this year’s AGM season. This is reflective of the government’s corporate governance reform, such as the introduction and revision of the stewardship code and corporate governance code serving as a tailwind.

Shareholder activism has made massive inroads into Japan over the last four years. In 2018, the number of activist campaigns in Asia surpassed the number across Europe for the first time, with Japan accounting for the majority of cases in Asia.