UK General Election Survey: TV Debates bad for Labour, as Conservatives and LibDems Battle it out on Facebook

LONDON, April 27, 2010 - With all polls coming in with close results, the latest study by global
reputation auditors Echo Research, combining likelihood to vote, attitudes
toward the issues and overall media influence, shows Labour losing the hearts
and minds of the British electorate. According to Echo's study, if people can
be persuaded to exercise their right to vote, there is a strong likelihood of
swinging the 2010 General Elections towards a Conservative or a
Conservative-Liberal Democratic government.

"We've been tracking governments and elections since 1993. We are seeing
an echo of the famous 1960 Kennedy-Nixon televised debates, where the power
of television and the novelty of broadcast head-to-head encounters clearly
swung voters around. This, along with the Obama effect of harnessing social
media, is driving passion and interest back into the UK elections," according
to Sandra Macleod, Group CEO of Echo Research.

Added Macleod, "the immediacy and drama of the TV debate has combined
with the social media engagement to spark the interest of the young voters
and encourage them to apply for ballot papers, which could be the deciding
factor in this election."

TV MOST IMPORTANT AND TRUSTED SOURCE

Echo's nationwide research among 1,000 adults before the second TV debate
mirrors the near-equal ranking seen by other polls, showing 20% Conservative,
20% LibDems and 19% Labour, with up to 25% being undecided or unwilling to
say. With TV the single most important and trusted source of information,
notably in the Midlands and Scotland and particularly among traditional
Labour supporters, Gordon Brown's under-performance in the debates is
affecting voter sentiment. Labour's favourability on television is lowest of
the three main parties, according to Echo's analysis. Over one-third (37%)
has said that television is more important than the last election, especially
among the 18-24 year olds.

INTERNET AND FACEBOOK IMPACT

Considering voter perceptions, with the potential influence of 1.4
million items of media coverage and 61,000 social media comment across each
of the three main political parties, Echo's study shows that for the first
time, with close to 50% of the population turning to the internet for their
information, the online world is also playing a game-changing role in the
2010 election. Online shows the greatest increase as a source of information
about the elections, ahead of all other sources, particularly for men.

Notably, social media sites such as Facebook are addressing issues of
real voter concern, such as the economy and health, far better than
traditional media, which have tended to focus more on personality and MPs'
expenses. Although traditional face-to-face discussions in the pub (32%) are
proving to be still more influential than social media (19%), social media is
having a significant impact, especially among LibDems voters across the
country who also favour Facebook more than the other supporters. Importantly,
social media rank particularly highly among the young 18-24 year olds (42%).
To date, social media has been dominated by the Conservative viewpoints
(58%), which have broadly mirrored the attitudes of the electorate.

IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID

Both in the media and in perceptions, the economy dominates everyone's
minds; healthcare and education follow in second and third places - with
healthcare significantly higher among women (20% vs. 13% men). Immigration
was one of the biggest issues for the elderly (65+), behind the economy and
elderly care/healthcare for that group.

Lagging significantly behind in terms of voter importance are taxes at 9%
(although most of a worry for the 18-24 year olds), care for the elderly,
security, Afghanistan (of note really only for the 65+ and those in the
North) and the environment (registering slightly above others for the
middle-age bracket).

From among those expressing a preference, Labour voters are most
concerned about the economy and education, while Conservative followers are
more concerned than others about immigration and taxes.

THE UNDECIDEDS RULE

Over a quarter of voters are undecided about whether to vote or state a
preference, with the least likelihood to cast a vote among LibDems supporters
(20%). "But," adds Macleod, "while the Conservatives are doing the better job
on social media, it's the LibDems who seem to offer the greatest hope and
encouragement among the young (18-24) and also those under 45."

OBAMA EFFECT

Commenting at the launch of the Echo Research group's integrated online
and social media analysis platform, EchoSonar, Sandra Macleod said: "While we
are not seeing the deft use of social media that President Barack Obama
displayed to secure his landslide victory in American, the use of social
media both by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats has left
Labour standing. As with the introduction of televised debates in this
country, social media have now become an essential weapon in the battle for
people's hearts, minds and votes. Those who ignore it or are slow to engage
will truly be left behind."

    METHODOLOGY

    - Nationwide telephone survey of a representative sample of 1024 UK
      adults conducted 16 to 18 April (CATI Fieldwork tables available upon
      request)
    - Analysis of 1,333,594 items of online coverage for all political
      parties since 1 October 2009
    - Tracking of 60,996 social media items across all political parties
      since the election was called (online access via the integrated
      EchoSonar platform available upon request)
    - Presentation of findings and graphics please click here:
      www.echoresearch.com/news-and-events/events/election2010/

BACKGROUND ON ECHO

With 165 employees and analysts in offices in London, Paris, New York and
Singapore, Echo Research provides independent reputation analysis through
media content and stakeholder studies for FTSE and Fortune 100 organisations,
the public sector and not-for-profits. Winners of some 75 industry awards for
excellence in research, among Echo's current clients are American Express,
Barclays Bank, BT, GSK, the Department of Health, the Foreign & Commonwealth
Office, JPMorgan Chase, Nintendo, PricewaterhouseCoopers and WWF. As
registered Expert Witnesses, Echo has tracked elections in the UK and
internationally since 1993. EchoSonar is the latest in the group's reputation
research offerings aimed at understanding the issues and influence in the
online world.

(c) Echo Research Ltd 10/11 Charterhouse Square London EC1M 6AX

For further information, contact: London - Sandra Macleod, Group CEO - +44(0)20-7608-1113
sandram at echoresearch.com; New York - David Michaelson, President North America - +1(212
)212-901-0456 davidm at echoresearch.com; Singapore - Michelle Allen, Regional Manager AsiaPac - +65-63299630 michellea at echoresearch.com