Traditional advertising has seen levels of trust decline in the UK according to a new report from measurement company Nielsen.
TV ads, company websites, and promotional email have all witnessed a decline in trust among UK consumers over the last two years.
In contrast, recommendations from friends remains the most credible way to sell a product or service.
The Global Survey of Trust in Advertising, which polled 30,000 online respondents in 60 countries, found that in the UK, the format hit by the biggest decline in trust was editorial content (down 8% points to 54%) followed by emails that consumers sign up for (down 7% to 56%) and newspaper and radio ads (both down 6%).
[advert position=”left”]
Of the 19 ad formats covered in the report, only the three least trusted – mobile ads, text ads on mobiles and ads on social networks – have increased in trust over the last two years. Thirteen experienced a decline, while three were unchanged.
“There isn’t one simple rule for maximising advertising effectiveness in a saturated market like the UK, but understanding how consumers feel about the ads they’re served on various media platforms is a good starting point,” said Nielsen’s EVP of marketing effectiveness for Europe, Terrie Brennan.
“While advertisers have started to follow consumers online, about a third of online advertising campaigns don’t work – they don’t generate awareness or drive any lift in purchase intent.
“More than ever, consumers are in control of how they consume content and interact with brands, so understanding ad resonance across screens is now the only way to successfully drive memorability and brand lift.”
Personal recommendations, which are trusted to some degree by 81% of UK respondents, remains the most trusted form of advertising or communication, with the credibility gap widening between it and other formats. It now stands alone as the only format trusted by more than 60% of UK respondents.
