Day 047 - 07 Nov 94 - Page 13
1 that companies know the way that public opinion is moving
2 in advertising standards and to make sure that company
3 views are adequately reflected in the places where those
4 subjects are discussed.
5
6 Q. How are you aware of public opinion?
7 A. By reading the newspapers and magazines, listening to
8 television and radio programmes, by the amount of comment
9 that reaches us from a variety of sources. We do our best
10 to maintain a wide range of inputs on subjects which would
11 be of importance to our company members.
12
13 If I can just explain a little? In an individual company,
14 people are very strongly focused on the issues that matter
15 to that company, to that industry, to the particular
16 products they are involved in. They may have very little
17 idea of what is happening in other product areas, in other
18 countries, in media that they do not use, in subjects that
19 they do not use. So we try and make sure that they are in
20 a position to understand what is happening in a wider
21 environment than the one they are immediately working in.
22
23 Q. That would be in terms of what the industry is doing and
24 what the industry is thinking?
25 A. But also what consumers are saying, what commentators
26 are saying. As I have said, we have a wide range of
27 literature and television and radio material to draw on, as
28 a part of that. We also have research data from time to
29 time.
30
31 Q. How much input does -- well, does the ISBA have much input
32 from consumers?
33 A. A certain amount. I get quite a lot of letters from
34 individual consumers, also from students, also from
35 academics who want to discuss a particular point of view
36 with us or want our input to a particular point of view. I
37 have a great many calls from journalists who want to
38 interview us for a programme or for an article. So we get
39 a lot of information of opinions, many of them at
40 secondhand.
41
42 Q. So the ISBA does not actually set out to get the opinions
43 of consumers, other than sort of secondhand?
44 A. Only to the extent that it is relevant to the kind of
45 information and advice we give to our companies.
46
47 Q. On how to market their products more effectively?
48 A. And on the environment in which they are marketing.
49
50 Q. What do you mean by that?
51 A. I think we are going in a slightly circular direction.
52 The environment is the opinions of the people to whom they
53 are selling their products. If companies do not know the
54 point of view of the consumers in their markets or in
55 related markets, we help them to add some depth to that
56 kind of information.
57
58 Q. In terms of representing your member companies -- I do not
59 know whether that is quite the way of phrasing it -- what
60 kind of work do you do for that? I mean in terms of
