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5th July 2007, Oxford
A global survey conducted by The Nielsen Company and Oxford University has found that UK respondents have chosen Sir Richard Branson as the best person to lead a campaign to combat climate change. Branson, with 23%, led a group including Bob Geldof (2nd/18%), Nelson Mandela (3rd/14%), Bill Clinton (4th/13%), and Al Gore (5th/12%) (see Chart 1).
However Branson did not have it all his own way. Jonathan Banks, The Nielsen Company’s Business Insight Director commented, “UK women chose Geldof ahead of Branson, while people under the age of 20 had David Beckham and Johnny Depp in their top two places, with Branson in fourth place behind Nelson Mandela.”
The “under 25s” went for Geldof ahead of Branson, but for the older age groups, Branson led the group of global celebrities, politicians, and sports stars: the “55 years and over” put Branson a full 11 percentage points ahead of Geldof.
Banks added, “The UK results contrast markedly with those for the rest of the world. Al Gore was the overall vote winner with 18%; Kofi Annan in second place (15%), and Oprah Winfrey (14%), the highest place woman.”
The online Nielsen survey, the largest of its kind to be conducted globally on the topic of consumer attitudes to climate change, was conducted in April 2007 in conjunction with Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute and polled 26,486 internet users across 47 countries in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Over a thousand internet users were surveyed in the UK.
With the Live Earth concerts this week, the Nielsen survey is an important contribution to understanding the potential leadership role of celebrities, politicians, business people, and others in the climate change debate.
Professor Timmons Roberts, James Martin Fellow at the University of Oxford, says “Live Earth represents an opportunity for a broader group of people to hear about climate change, and this study was a chance to identify who might be an effective messenger. The challenge that remains is to determine which messages move people from concern to positive action in their everyday lives.”
Ian Curtis, founder of Oxford University’s ClimateXchange, says “Global warming is now about society’s response. Research is telling us that many people are up for it - but frustrated. They’re looking for not just messengers but leaders. Leaders they can trust, who will inspire them with passion and style, and make us feel excited about saving the planet. This survey identifies those leaders and says to them 'are you up for this - because the world is willing?' ".
About The Nielsen Company The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek) and trade shows. The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA.
About Environmental Change Institute: www.eci.ox.ac.uk
Environmental Change Institute (ECI) plays a leading role in the UK Government's three main climate research initiatives. ECI hosts the internationally-acclaimed UK Climate Impacts Programme; is a core partner in the national Tyndall Centre for Climate Change; and a lead player in the UK Energy Research Centre. The Oxfordshire ClimateXchange (www.climatex.org) is creating a county-wide community effort to combat climate change, while the University climateprediction.net is the largest computer modelling climate experiment in the world, across 150 countires and over 300,000 people
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