The report also shows that consumers continue to hold on to their purse strings but that there is potential for higher spend on low cost treats, such as food and drinks for in-home entertainment.

Download the full report here:

RED C – Credit Crunch Tracking – Jan 2012

With their support under pressure, the last thing the Government needs is a European Referendum to push through.  Particularly when voter attitudes towards that referendum in today’s poll are taken into account, as they suggest it may be quite hard to get it passed.  Firstly, the great majority of voters (72%) believe that the government should hold a referendum on the new Treaty.  This makes it far more difficult for the government to push through without one. 

At the same time, current vote intentions on a possible European Treaty referendum, albeit before arguments have been made, suggest winning the referendum could be a struggle.  Only just over half of all those who expressed a preference (52.6%) say they would support the referendum.  Historically this is a very low start point to push any referendum through, as it is far easier to fight on the reason not to do something and keep the status quo, than fight for change. 

Download full report below:-

SBP Jan 29th Poll Report

Please click on the following link to find a short review of 2011, and our thoughts on trends in 2011.

2011 – out with the old in with the new

At the same time 26% of those aware they are liable for the new household charge, claim they wont pay it.  Those who are more likely to claim they will not pay appear to be in younger age groups, and to be living in Leinster outside of Dublin.

However a large proportion, 24% of the population are currently not aware if they are liable or not, with younger voters and those living in Connaught and Ulster least likely to know.

(Clarification - It was brought to our attention that we had originally suggested that the Socialist party was on 6% in Dublin within the commentary of this report.  Unfortunately this was a typo.  The Socialist Party are actually on 3% in Dublin, and 1% nationally)

To read more download the full report below:-

 Paddy Power – 12th Jan Political Poll 2012 – Vote Intention Report

For more information please go to http://redcresearch.ie/about/careers-red-c

Demographic analysis for Ireland shows that those aged 35-54 years are significant less happy than other age groups with almost as many ‘unhappy’ as ‘happy’ with their life. The survey also reveals that females are less happy than males and that happiness increases with social class. There is few regional differences but people in Connaught and Ulster appear less happy than the rest of the country.

Zurich, 30 December 2011 — A new global poll conducted on the run up to the new year shows that low hopes for the economy fail to dampen a feeling of Happiness at new year. Thus when asked: Are you happy or unhappy, the global net happiness stands at 40% showing that the “happy” outnumber the “unhappy” by 40% points. The global survey was carried out by the world’s largest independent network of opinion pollsters, WIN-Gallup International in over 58 countries (52,913 interviews), covering the vast majority of world population. The network has conducted this annual poll on the eve of new year since 1977.

The global poll which had earlier focused on prospects for the economy added a question this year on “Happiness”. The findings turned out to be quite revealing. The attainment of Happiness is aided by economic hopefulness; but often “happiness” refuses to be subdued by economic gloom. Thus 42% of the global “gloomies” who are gloomy about economic prospects of 2012 say they are on the whole “happy”. Evidently despite economic gloom most European nations are in the Happy Box.

The survey also finds that nations which are struggling hard to move up on global economic ladder produce a lot of “unhappy” people. Thus net happiness in China is nearly half of global average and stands at 25%. In contrast the economically pressured Spaniards score 55% net happiness. Perhaps the feeling to “be happy” is also a cultural trait!

According to the WIN-Gallup International Global Barometer of Happiness 53% of the world say they feel happy while 13% say they feel “unhappy”. Another 31% say they are “neither happy nor unhappy” while 3% did not respond.

For further information, please download the full press report by clicking the link below:

New Year Poll ‘On Happiness’ – Global Happiness Remains High in Spite of Economic Gloom – Press Report 03-01-12

For further details, please contact: Jimmy Larsen, RED C Research

jimmy.larsen@redcresearch.ie

Ph: 01-8186316

Globally Net Hope falls from +2% at year end in 2010 to -4% now.

Zurich, 22 December 2011 — A new global poll conducted on the run up to the new year confirms the downward trend in popular hopes about economic well-being in 2012. The survey also confirms that the gloom is thicker in Europe and North America compared to the rest of the world. The global survey was carried out by the world’s largest independent network of opinion pollsters, WIN-Gallup International in over 50 countries (with more than 45,000 interviews), covering the vast majority of world population. The network has conducted this annual poll since 1977 and finds the latest year as one of the most pessimistic.

According to the WIN-Gallup International global barometer of hope and despair, 31% of the world are today hopeful about the economic prospects in 2012, while 34% expect it to be worse than the year which is just ending. As for the remaining 27% expect no change from previous year, and 8% were unable to give a response.

The global survey reveals that despair about economic prospects is led by Europe and followed by North America. Many in the rest of the world notably China remain hopeful. Of the 50 countries polled, 34 are on the whole pessimist showing that the pessimists in those countries outnumber optimists, while 15 are optimists showing that pessimists are outnumbered by optimists. Only in one country (India) the pessimists and optimists are exactly equal.

The global trend in pessimism is led by France where Net Hope is -80% while the optimists are led by Nigeria where Net Hope is +80%. Other nations are in between for example the Net Hope in USA is -21% and in China it is +21%.

For further information, please download the full press release by clicking the link below:

Annual Global Barometer on Hope and Despair – Ireland Press Release 22-12-2011

For further details please contact: 
Jimmy Larsen, RED C Research

jimmy.larsen@redcresearch.ie

Ph: 01-8186316

We are delighted to announce that RED C Research Ltd and OI Research (formerly Outsourced Insight) have joined forces in a merger agreement that will make the group one of the largest independent market research companies in Ireland.  Our joining together unites two of the most highly respected and fastest growing insight-delivery agencies in Ireland, and will allow us to offer our clients an even broader range of services, expertise  and support.  This development will significantly strengthen our position both in Ireland and overseas. 

Both brands will continue to operate as part of a new enlarged RED C Group and our clients will benefit from all of the positives associated with the merger, while retaining tried and trusted work channels and project management teams. 

The benefits of the merger for research buyers include: 

• A stronger independent Irish research partner        

•  A broader range of expertise, products and solutions to meet your business needs   

•  A  commitment to future innovation, ensuring world-class research solutions  

•  A  greater level of service support and resources 

•  The network to facilitate research on a global scale

Richard Colwell, Managing Director of RED C Research and the new merged RED C group commented.

“We are delighted to have come to an agreement with OI Research, and bring them into the larger merged RED C Group.  I have known David Cullen, MD of OI Research, for a long time and have always valued his skills and abilities, and believe he has very much instilled these in his team.  OI Research have been at the forefront of bringing new techniques and ideas to Ireland, and this will further cement our position as the leading innovators in insight delivery.   We believe there are significant synergies in our businesses that will allow us to provide an even better suite of services to clients across Ireland moving forward.”

David Cullen, MD, OI Research  (pitured below on right) believes that the group’s clients will benefit significantly from the deal.   

“We are very excited by the new possibilities that this merger provides for all of our clients.  This represents the combination of two of Ireland’s most successful research agencies and together we are uniquely positioned to provide clients with the most comprehensive, innovative and high quality suite of products and services.  OI Research and RED C have always shared a common vision to deliver excellence and fresh thinking in research and this will continue to be our shared goal.  We are confident that our clients will see the benefits of this merger as we continue to develop and grow in the years to come”

 For further information please contcat Richard Colwell, 018186316

Labour are also under pressure, losing 2% share in just over a month since the election of Michael D. Higgins.  This leaves the party securing 15% share of the first preference vote, and means they are also 4% down on the vote share they secured at the last election.  For Labour this is a significant concern, as the parties share of the vote has not been this low for over three years.  In fact it was January 2009 when they last saw support at just 15%, and certainly the belief within the party would have been that they had moved well beyond this level of support.

To download the full report click below:-

SBP 4th Dec 2011 Poll Report

Good quality polls inform opinion, they don’t influence – they are a scientifically-based neutral snapshot of how all voters feel. Voters make up their minds based on a multitude of sources of information. These may include media comment, friends and family opinions, comment on the internet, and possibly polls. There is no evidence, however, that polls influence how people vote any more than comment and analysis from the media, journalists, parties and the bookies! I am sure most people you ask would suggest polls do not influence their decision, any more than a discussion with their neighbour.

The point about opinion polls, when compared to all those other sources of influence, is that they are completely unbiased. They represent exactly what all adults in Ireland are feeling. Without them, the vacuum is filled with opinion from journalists, much of which comprises assumption statements that are often not coming from a neutral standpoint.

To suggest that you would rather see the debate only consist of potentially ill-informed opinion; sound bites from the political parties based on their own internal polls; betting odds; and comment from biased sources such as Twitter – and that there should be no neutral unbiased information from polls for voters – seems a little strange.

In this recent presidential election the bookies paid out on Michael D Higgins with a week to go. This decision was based on the media opinion that Seán Gallagher had been severely damaged by revelations in that week. The reality, however, when the polls were published on the final weekend, was that Mr Gallagher was still significantly ahead, and only at this time was it clear that the revelations up to that time had not damaged Mr Gallagher in any way as much as the media and the bookies had assumed.

Let us for a moment assume that those opinion polls had been banned. The assumption would have been that by the final weekend Mr Gallagher was perhaps yesterday’s news, and it is quite likely that instead of all the candidates and questions focusing on Mr Gallagher in the final debate, the critical spotlight might instead have been turned on Michael D Higgins.

Without the focus on him, Mr Gallagher might then not have been put under pressure in the Frontlinedebate, and could potentially have gone on to win the election. This result would have been due to media opinion and the bookies “informing” people’s opinions that Mr Gallagher had been dealt with, when in fact he hadn’t, in a vacuum without a measure of how the public were actually feeling.

If John Waters wants a truly sacrosanct polling experience, “uncontaminated by any sense of what others have decided”, this suggests you will need to ban newspapers, media commentators, political television shows, bookies, party machines, Twitter (all of which usually represent one point of view or another) and perhaps as a last report polls (which simply reflect the views of the people without any agenda). – Yours, etc,