Do Consumers Now Consider Ads More Trustworthy Than News?

A survey conducted for MediaPost by Brand Keys has confirmed a media-trust nosedive, referring to the all-time historical low trust in the news industry that has been reported over the past few years. The study highlighted how people are more willing to trust advertisements over the news.

In this article, we will be showcasing that advertisements in the news are more trustworthy than advertisements online. Additionally, we view trust as the single, most important factor when considering consumer behavior, meaning that every industry should be implementing trust strategies. 

We'll be going over:

• New study: consumers trust ads more than the news
• But, is it?
• Ads in the news are more trusted than ads online
• Trust: central to consumer behavior

New Study: Consumers Trust Ads More Than the News

In a recent study, Brand Keys surveyed 6,850 adult consumers in the United States in an attempt to see whether consumers are more likely to trust the advertisement industry over the media industry. 

When asked about brands they “trust a great deal,” respondents ranked the technology industry in the first place, earning the trust of 40% of consumers, followed closely by the entertainment industry at 39%.

Robert Passikoff, the founder and president of Brand Keys highlighted, based on the outcome of the survey, that the reason why the advertising business ranks more trustworthy than the media business is that brands are more invested in building trust with consumers. According to Passikoff, brands are constantly interacting with their consumers to retain brand profitability and reputation. 

These conclusions led to the issuance of the following press release: “Consumers three times more likely to trust their shampoo brand than news media.” However, Brand Keys were not referring to the advertising industry when they mentioned “Shampoo,” to the contrary, they were referring to the beauty industry, and used this comparison to highlight how that trust in the news media industry is declining. 

Next to that, with 13% of consumers trusting the advertising business and 10% trusting the media business, Brand Keys concluded that consumers in the United States are more likely to trust the advertisement industry rather than the news media.

But, Is It Really?

In contrast with the Brand Keys study, a 2022 Edelman study showed that communications from the media are automatically trusted at 10%, while communications from advertisements are trusted at 8%. While these numbers show that the news industry is trusted more than the advertisements industry, we think that there is no benefit in considering the comparison for different reasons.

Is there any benefit in comparing the news industry to the advertisement industry? Imagine you go to a supermarket to buy some needed groceries. You've been reading in newspapers and hearing on the radio how all our foods are filled with sodium nitrate, GMOs, and artificial coloring; you’re suddenly worried about the health of your family. When entering the store, you see a rack filled with clothes from a brand you’ve been shopping at since you were a teenager: it’s your favorite, eco-friendly brand ever!

Now here is the question: will you stop buying groceries because you don’t trust the food supply chain, and spend your weekly grocery allowance on a new sweatshirt from your favorite brand instead? I think not. The comparison doesn’t stand.

In times of crisis, a consumer needing to know whether the level-4 hurricane is heading towards New Orleans rather than Pensacola will consult the news; not American Eagle’s holiday campaign. Regardless of whether that consumer trusts ads and doesn’t care for news, each industry has a clear purpose. 

As per the American Press Institute, the purpose of news and journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments. In contrast, advertisement has three distinctive purposes: informing, persuading, and reminding the consumer to drive sales. 

Based on that, the average Joe will not consult CNN to buy new pants, just like he wouldn’t go to Amazon.com to know more about the presidential elections. 

Therefore, even though the numbers in the Brand Keys Study reveal that 13% of consumers trust the advertisement industry and 10% of consumers trust the news industry, and the numbers in the Edelman study reveal the opposite, the only conclusion that can be drawn from this comparison is that trust is an important factor in all industries.

Ads in the News Are More Trusted Than Ads Online

As explained before, some studies find that the news industry is more trusted than the advertisement industry, while other studies find the opposite. However, we see that it would be beneficial to explore what advertisement is more trusted by the consumer: online or through traditional news outlets. 

In Kantar’s Media Reactions 2020 survey, the company tried to access global online trust. In other terms, the study tried to highlight which advertisement format is more trusted by consumers. It turns out that offline media channels ranked first compared to online media channels, with TV ads, newspaper, magazine, radio, and cinema ads taking the top 5. 

Additionally, the study found that the average trust in offline channels averages 20%, while trust for online channels averages only 11%.

Furthermore, the most trusted online and offline ad environments vary heavily around the world. While the US ranks Google as the most trusted online brand, the UK chooses YouTube, and China chooses WeChat. As for offline brands, France ranks Le Monde as the most trusted, while Germany chooses RTL. 

However, when comparing which is the most trusted, the overwhelming majority of countries trust offline brands more than online brands.

What does this concretely mean? Well, online publishers and brands need to work on their collective reputation as trustworthy environments for advertisement. Therefore, even though Brand Key’s numbers are showing that the advertisement industry is more trusted than the media industry, it turns out that ads in the news are more trusted by today's consumers!

Trust: Central to Consumer Behavior

Robert Passikoff highlighted that “news media brands are in a lot of trouble when consumers trust their personal care brands three times more than their news media choices, and trust 19 sectors more than media.” 

Well, there is indeed a consistent trend of consumers trusting the media less: as a breakdown, TV news ranked third with only 6%, followed by radio at 14% and newspapers at 11%. 

We could say that this historical drop is caused by the lack of an effective and comprehensive strategy based on trust that would compel citizens into trusting news again. 

In contrast, brands (including the advertisement industry) that differentiate themselves by creating brand trust, flourish. 

Since trust heavily drives loyalty, impacts consumer behavior and buying decisions, it is essential for every business – not only the advertisement industry and the news industry – to implement an effective and comprehensive strategy based on trust.  

Final Thoughts

Some studies show that the advertisement industry is more trusted than the news industry, and other studies prove the opposite. However, regardless of which industry is trusted more, each and every business has an important role to play while catering to consumers. Therefore, we see that trust drives loyalty, impacts consumer behavior and buying decisions, meaning that it should be the center of every business strategy. 

Whether it’s the news industry, the advertisement industry, or the beauty industry, businesses need to implement strategies that focus on building trust with their consumers and repeat customers. Even if some industries are going to be generally more trusted by the public (perhaps due to their nature), it should not discourage every industry out there to build a relationship of trust with its consumers.