Trust in Advertising

Syndication Header: Rob Reed is president of Terrakon Sales and Marketing Consulting. Terrakon provides sales, marketing, and internet marketing services that increase online and offline conversions using a trust-building framework.

Post: If you are exploring different advertising mediums, you may want to consider survey results from comScore Networks conducted in Fall 2006. The question of 1,000 respondents representing the general internet population:

Where would you find trustworthy advertising for any product or service?

Advertising Medium - Percent of respondents

1. TV - 63%
2. Corporate sites - 51%
3. Print - 50%
4. News/Media sites - 49%
5. Radio - 28%
6. User Generated Content Sites (UGC) - 23%
7. Billboard - 19%

There are at least three significant takeaways from this survey:

1. If you offer a service or more complex product where trust is critical to your success, you may want to think twice about which advertising vehicle is used in your marketing mix.
2. It appears the majority of people do not believe advertising is trustworthy for products and services. The lack of trust could be because many companies and ad agencies use way too much hype; focus too much on the creative and not enough on the consumer; and don't understand how to build trust elements into their advertising.
3. If you can create trustworthy advertising, you can significantly differentiate yourself in the minds of potential customers and win more business - regardless of which advertising vehicle you choose.