EUROPEAN-WIDE SURVEY ON LOBBYING

The fifth Burson-Marsteller's survey on lobbying expanded coverage to 20 national European countries including Brussels from the EU-institutional focus. Some 600 interviews were carried out by local polling agencies and analyzed by Penn, Schoen & Berland (PSB) on behalf of Burson-Masteller during the period running from January until April 2013. The interviews involved a basic series of 23 questions to identify perceptions among policy elites about lobbying and lobbyists. They were conducted either online or by phone with politicians (both Members of national parliaments (MPs) and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and senior officials from national governments and the European institutions. The survey was released on 3 June 2013. Here below are the key findings:

Nearly 9 out of 10 respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that 'ethical and transparent lobbying helps policy development' and most groups of lobbyists were generally perceived as being transparent, most notably trade associations, professional associations, companies, trade unions and NGOs. These five groups were among those most commonly perceived as lobbyists; the other groups generally thought of as lobbyists- public affairs agencies- were seen as less transparent.

Most respondents felt that lobbying was not sufficiently regulated, while opinion was evenly divided on whether increased regulation would come in the next three years. More than half of the respondents (53%) thought that a mandatory register of lobbyists would be useful in their country, with less than a quarter disagreeing (22%). "Clearly the issue of further regulation of lobbying is on the agenda in many countries across Europe. Lobbyists must therefore not only worry about the arguments they make on their issues, but how their engagement with policy makers is perceived" noted Robert Mack, Chairman of Burson-Marsteller's Public Affairs Practice EMEA.

The findings also point out that Trade Associations were perceived as the most effective lobbyists (62%), followed by professional organisations and NGOs. There were, however, significant variations between countries: for example in Germany NGOs and public affairs agencies were seen to be most effective with 78% and 71% respectively.

Specialist news, government websites, scientific websites and traditional media websites were the most helpful online media sources. Surprisingly social media were generally perceived to be unhelpful and were not frequently consulted for issues related to work. In fact, almost half of the respondents never use Twitter to work and only a fifth use Facebook daily for work. The websites of industry associations, companies and NGOs tend to be visited at least once a week by around 40% of respondents.

Other key findings in the survey include:

• The least transparent lobbyists are journalists (43%) and law firms (38%)
• The majority (56%) of respondents across Europe think that lobbying is not sufficiently regulated in their country
• One in four respondents said that there is still a significant problem with 'corporate' lobbyists offeing what are perceived to be unethical inducemnts.
• Social media (47%) and traditional media, including media websites (both 26%) appear to be seen as not particularly helpful.
• Policy-makers often consult company websites (43%) using them daily or at least once a week, industry association websites (41%), NGO websites (37%) and Wikipedia (38%)
• Corporate lobbyists in the energy (68%) and healthcare (60%) sectors were seen to be the most effective and the most effective NGO lobbyists were seen to be working in the environment (52%) and human rights (49%) fields.
• Both corporate and NGO lobbyists were seen to be least effective in the retail (13%) and consumer goods (15%) areas.
• 48% of respondents thought that NGOs are not being sufficiently transparent about the interests they represent and 56% also thought NGOs based their position on emotion rather than facts.

12 Tips for Effective Lobbying

1. Be transparent about your interests: Policy-makers see a lack of transparency as a poor lobbying practice and for one in two respondents to the survey transparency was a factor in deciding whether to speak to a lobbyist.

2. Be aware that your audience is not only ‘in the room’: Policy-makers are increasingly reporting to their colleagues and the public on who they meet and on what issue – so act transparently.

3. Get your timing right: Get in early – but not too early – and follow the issue through all stages of policy development. Entering the debate too late is considered by many policymakers to be poor practice.

4. Understand the legislative process and its technicalities: Avoid a common criticism of both ‘corporate’ and NGO lobbyists by knowing what a decision-maker is able to do, when, and according to what procedure.

5. Think politically: Identify the focus of political argument, the values and interests involved and the potential basis for consensus. You will not always get 100% of what you want, but the compromise-builders are often successful.

6. Back up political arguments with evidence: Independent reports and science help to convince policy-makers – those surveyed criticised lobbying based on emotion rather than facts.

7. Identify your ultimate audience and clearly set realistic objectives at the beginning of your campaign: Be prepared to adapt your strategy in response to both external and internal changes.

8. Know the wide range of people that you need to talk to, but target the right decision-makers at the right time: Policy-makers are more likely to meet you if the topic is in their field of expertise or is of interest to them.

9. Mobilise people to act: Search for allies and work within coalitions whenever possible. Different policy-makers value the input of different groups of lobbyists, so working together in partnerships and even temporary coalitions can bear fruit.

10. Ensure that your message gets through online: While digital sources are less influential than meetings and briefings, policy-makers do frequently look at the websites of companies, industry associations and NGOs – check that you are giving the right first impression.

11. Recognise Europe’s diversity: Keep in mind the local, national and European dimensions of a policy issue and leverage the differences in attitudes between policy-makers in different countries.

12. Be creative and memorable from start to finish: Briefing materials, events and other activities that draw attention to your messages help lead to success.