Traditional media outperforms digital ads (online and mobile) in consumer trust according to The Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising 2015 Study. In fact, TV ads lead all paid media with 63% of global respondents reporting complete or somewhat trust, followed by newspaper (60%) and magazine (58%) ads. Online video ads, the highest rated of digital media advertising, was trusted by less than half of all respondents (48%) and performed below radio and pre-movie ads (each at 54%).

The study surveyed 30,000 online respondents in 60 countries to measure consumer response to paid, earned and owned advertising mediums. Important to note, survey responses were based on reported behavior and not actual metered data.

In terms of earned media, word-of-mouth remains the most trustworthy type of advertising with eight in 10 respondents (83%) completely or somewhat trusting the recommendations from people they know. Social media appears to be an influencer of trust with two-thirds of respondents (66%) stating that they trust consumer opinions posted online in reviews, etc.

As for owned media, seventy percent of respondents reported completely or somewhat trusting of branded websites, followed by brand sponsorships (61%) and opt-in emails (56%).

Trust and action appear closely correlated. For example, respondents that trust the opinions of friends and family say also they also take action on these opinions at least some of the time (83% each). In fact, the study shows that action exceeds trust by more than double digits for ads served in search engine results (47% trust; 58% take action), ads on social networks (46% trust; 56% take action) and text ads on mobile phones (36% trust; 46% take action).
Millennials more than Gen Z, Gen X or Baby Boomers reported the highest level of trust in digital advertising, online video ads at 54%, search engines 52%, ads on social networks, 51%, banner ads 47% and text ads on mobile at 41%.

Media planning is more important than ever to target audiences and ensure success metrics match objectives. Understanding consumer trust across platforms is an important measure in optimizing campaign performance.