The survey reveals that recommendation from friends and family is the most trusted form of advertising in India.
The category, among other forms of advertising, topped the survey, with 91 per cent of respondents expressing faith in recommendations. Online consumer
reviews is the next most trusted, with 77 per cent of the respondents affirming their belief in such testimonials.
What is interesting to note is that these two categories beat even brand websites and traditional forms such as television and newspaper ads.
The shrinking faith in the traditional forms of advertising is a global trend, as found by Nielsen. Nielsen’s Global Trust in Advertising Survey of
more than 28,000 internet respondents in 56 countries shows that while nearly half (47 per cent) of the consumers around the world say that they trust
paid television, magazine and newspaper ads, confidence in these media declined by 24 , 20 and 25 percentage points, respectively, since 2009.
In India, television ads have seen a decline in trust from 76 per cent in 2009 to 55 per cent in 2011. Similarly, magazine ads saw a fall of 14
percentage points to 59 per cent and newspaper ads, a 17 percentage point decline to 60 per cent. Ads before movies saw a gain in consumer trust in
2009. However, in the latest survey, the form fell by 12 percentage points, with only 49 per cent of the respondents saying that they trust these ads.
While brand websites and editorial content such as newspaper articles still found takers, establishing the forms in the top five with 75 per cent each,
brand sponsorships and outdoor advertising found credibility with only 55 per cent of the respondents.
Trust in radio advertisements has also dropped to 48 per cent, a fall of 18 percentage points from the figure in 2009.
