Summary
DP World is one of the world’s largest port operators and a leader in global supply chain solutions. From its 1972 beginnings as a port operator in Dubai to a global logistics provider in 69 countries, 10 percent of global trade passes through the group’s network of ports and terminals, economic and free zones, logistics hubs and marine services. Since 2021, Echo Research has designed, built and run DP World’s first global reputation measurement programme for the leadership team and its Board to ensure that its strategic positioning, engagements and communication efforts materially build trust and support around the world.

Objective/Brief
In a highly competitive and interconnected business environment, reputation matters significantly for DP World in establishing and maintaining relationships with various stakeholders globally, including governments, port authorities, shipping lines, logistics partners, investors, business customers and the media.

As part of its journey in transforming its global brand and operations under the one DP World banner, Group Chief Communications Officer Daniel Van Otterdijk wanted a holistic measure of its reputation globally across its business lines and international markets to ensure the company’s long-term success and growth.
The main requirement was to provide one single, tangible number for reputation that all the leadership team and key business leaders could understand both as a measure of success and to support strategic decision-making and resourcing behind this key intangible asset.

The research had to be measurable, repeatable, scalable, and tailored for the different stakeholders, languages, and insight requirements of the internal team spanning relationships, drivers of behaviour, expectations, communications, events, branding, sponsorships, sustainability and the future of global trade.
Reporting had to be both top level, and also granular at the operational business unit (often under different brand names
and with different competitor sets and issues) and stakeholder ownership levels.

Strategy
Echo Research, leveraging its global expertise in communications, brand, and reputation research, aimed to provide DP World with evidence-based insights and actionable recommendations, going beyond data collection and reporting.
We planned the reputation measurement programme at the outset with specific SMART objectives in mind. It measures DP World’s corporate reputation and trust, providing a one-number net trust index to track progress against its initial benchmark. The programme includes actionable insights on the drivers of stakeholder trust and reputation, informing strategic direction, communication, and management. Additionally, it measures the impact of partnerships and marketing communications on shaping DP World’s reputation.
The programme’s findings, lessons, recommendations, and key performance indicators (KPIs) were designed to cover both corporate reputation and commercial considerations. This approach serves as the basis for an ongoing annual reputation and trust measurement programme, providing strategic insights to DP World in the future.
Echo assigned a senior-level team with extensive expertise in global communications best practice and reputation measurement along with highly experienced multilingual analysts to accompany DP World on its journey from 2021, 2022, and now 2023.

By adopting this approach, DP World benefits from a comprehensive and tailored measurement and reporting system that provides valuable insights into its reputation, trust levels, and the impact of its communication efforts. This strategic approach ensures that DP World can make informed decisions, drive continuous improvement, and enhance its position in fast-changing and challenging B2B sector that is global trade.

Execution/Implementation
Echo developed a robust measurement of corporate reputation using our framework for DP World encompassing a global audience, including customers, prospects, and influencers, to ensure a consistent, unified and comprehensive insights into DP World’s reputation across various stakeholder groups and markets.

Two annual tracking studies were conducted between April 2021 and December 2022 with the 2023 study currently in planning.

For customers, a quantitative global online survey was conducted, targeting existing customers across business areas and subsidiaries with responses received from customers in over 50 markets worldwide. With support from Echo, DP World secured participation from each business area, gaining access to customer CRM data. Echo designed, programmed, translated, and hosted the online survey, tailored to focus on both the reputation of DP World and its subsidiaries.
Influencers, including media, government, trade associations/partners, and financial entities, were targeted through semistructured qual/quant telephone interviews conducted by Echo’s executive interviewers in native languages. DP World provided an introductory letter and email invitations to potential respondents. A summary report of findings was offered to secure participation.

Consistent KPIs: The survey content was carefully designed to capture key measures for consistent tracking over time. Key performance indicators included the level of familiarity with DP World, overall reputation, overall trust (represented by the net trust one number KPI), and advocacy/likelihood to recommend DP World (measured by the Net Promoter Score). For subsidiary customers, awareness of DP World as the parent company and views on the relationship were also assessed.
The drivers of trust were explored through statistical analysis (correlated components regression) to evaluate the most important attributes, corporate competencies (e.g., customer service, speed, innovation) and behaviours (e.g., ethical behaviour, social and environmental responsibility) driving trust in DP World. We also used gap analysis to identify perception gaps between stakeholder audiences.

Effectiveness of Assignment

The study not only met DP World’s reputation measurement objectives unifying its operations, but also provided the evidence for, and drove an understanding of, the issues and channels that impact results.

Our study followed the principles set by AMEC’s Barcelona Principles and the integrated evaluation framework from planning and target-setting through to outcomes. We meticulously measured perceptions of DP World’s brand purpose, as well as the awareness and impact of partnerships, sponsorships, and other communications touchpoints (including media / social media). We also assessed stakeholders’ perception of communications, including clarity, openness, and consistency.

We included horizon scanning, identifying areas where DP World can better support stakeholders and lead on important issues. This forward-looking approach allows DP World to adapt and meet evolving stakeholder needs and expectations.

With the combination of output and impact measures including drivers of trust and behaviour, our comprehensive global report presents the findings in a concise and impactful manner. It includes an executive summary, recommended actions and counsel, quantitative analysis showing statistically significant differences over time, key driver analysis to identify attributes impacting trust in DP World, analysis of partnerships’ impact on metrics, qualitative analysis of key themes with anonymized verbatim, and regional summaries. We also designed a Reputation Scorecard for a quick overview of key metrics on net trust.

Finally, we conducted eight debrief presentations, including a session with DP World’s Senior Leadership team, regional heads, and business heads. These presentations ensured that key stakeholders are fully informed about the study’s insights and recommendations.

The analysis has helped DP World measure the impact of a crisis involving a subsidiary on DP World’s reputation, showing that the issue was largely contained to one market.

It highlighted that DP World should capitalise on its innovation and sustainability communications which was built into DP World’s communications strategy. In 2022 we showed improvements in perceptions across both measures.
Since the initial global benchmark in 2021, DP World has gained valuable insights, enabling practical feedback, contextualisation of issues, relationships and engagements across key stakeholder groups and markets, and strategically, building a foundation of continuous improvement in corporate reputation management.

“As our close, trusted advisor and ‘objective mirror’ into our reputation globally, Echo’s comprehensive approach and
actionable recommendations have had a significant impact on our communications planning, ensuring our future success in
building and maintaining a strong reputation for DP World now and ahead.”
Daniel Van Otterdijk, Group CCO, DP World