Ad trust is low but news media are worse 

Just 13% of Americans place a great deal of trust in advertising, but that’s still more than the news media in which they may encounter such content, research from Brand Keys shows.

Even allowing for the depredations of the Trump years, the brand researcher notes that “media brand trust took a nosedive” in its most recent tracking study, which surveyed 6,850 US adults in July. Trust in news media stood at just 10%, although within that radio (14%) and newspapers (11%) fared better than the sector average, MediaPost reports. 

Why it matters

In general, it doesn’t bode well that people don’t much trust regular information channels, but when the cost of living is rising precipitously, the lack of trust shown in sectors that are in the front line of the crisis – government, financial and energy – signals difficult times ahead. Marketers need to find ways to build trust and, crucially, to deliver on expectations. 

Takeaways

• Four in ten Americans trust technology brands “a great deal”, followed by entertainment (39%), telecommunications (38%) and luxury goods (36%).
• Around a third place a lot of trust in pharma (35%), healthcare (34%), shipping (32%), apparel (31%) and beauty brands (30%). 
• Things start to tail off with food and beverage (29%), auto (28%), retail (26%), travel (22%) and sports brands (20%).
• Finally, the least trusted are financial (16%), energy (15%), advertising (13%), government (11%), news media (10%) and social media brands (8%) 

Key quote

“Consumers [are] three times more likely to trust their shampoo brand than news media” – Brand Keys. 

Sourced from Mediapost