Marketing and all things related

Back in August, I published a post called Surprise: People Don't Trust Advertisers where I talked about the results of a study done by Bridge Ratings and the University of Massachusetts. 

Now, Nielsen conducted a global study where they surveyed consumers in 47 markets to get a better understanding of their feelings toward traditional and digital advertising.  Again, it's not surprising that the results show people don't trust ads, particularly digital ads.

Here are the primary findings according to Brandweek when respondents were asked if they trusted specific types of advertising:

• 63% trust newspaper ads
• 56% trust TV and magazine ads
• 34% trust search ads
• 26% trust banner ads
• 18% trust mobile advertising

Consumer opinions and social networking online was found to be far more trustworthy than traditional or digital advertising:

• 78% trust recommendations from other consumers
• 66% of North American respondents trust blogs; 61% of global respondents trust blogs
• 61% trust consumer opinions posted online
• 60% trust brand websites

Bottomline, the results are actually quite similar to the results of the Bridge Ratings and University of Massachusetts study back in August.  Consumers don't trust advertising.  Instead, consumers are more likely to respond to the opinions of other people (influencers) whether those opinions are heard via traditional word-of-mouth or online through websites, blogs and social media. 

Viral marketing is an essential part of any company's marketing plan.  Those companies that embrace it early and take risks to learn the best ways to leverage it will reap the rewards later.

What do you think about Nielsen's findings?