Trust in Advertising: Maximizing Your Ad Budget

Having been in the ad business for almost 25 years, I have always been awestruck by how fast advertising and technology evolve together – technology is continuously creating new ways of sending out advertising messages and connecting and interacting with people.

Today not only do we use smart phones, tablets and laptops to watch TV and movies, we also get our news and gather information needed for work and our day-to-day lives. With all of this technology available, clients are always asking, “where can I spend my limited advertising budget to maximize my ad budget and get the best result possible.”

Recently, I came across a Nielsen report Global Trust In Advertising and was fascinated by the graphic on the Percent of Respondents Who Completely Or Somewhat Trust Adverting Format By Generation. Agencies have always been able to target ads demographically, geographically and to niche groups, but this information confirms that we can target advertising efforts to certain groups (generations) on/in media that they trust and what types of advertising really resonates with them.

When recruiting, clients are usually looking for candidates with certain levels of experience – entry-level, some experience, multiple years of experience, etc.

While there isn’t one magic bullet that will maximize advertising effectiveness, in a world where people are constantly bombarded with information – on social networks, search engines and banner ads on websites, in newspapers and magazines, on TV and on the radio and at the movies, on their phones, outdoor billboards, emails signed up for and span – understanding how different generations of people react to certain types of advertising is a good place to start.

Data to backup advertising recommendations to different target audiences is a great tool that allows agencies like ours to seriously boost our clients advertising efforts in the following ways:

  • No wasted circulation/impressions
  • Budget goes a lot further because it is targeted better
  • Advertising is accepted as valuable content

For example, Millennials (ages 21-34) have the highest level of trust in nearly all forms of advertising. Don’t believe me? Check out the numbers below.

Percentage of respondents who completely or somewhat trust advertising format:

  • Branded Websites 75%
  • Opinions Posted Online 70%
  • Editorial Content 68%
  • Brand Sponsorships 66%

Nielsen Report
Graphic is from The Nielsen Company
's blog: Millennials Are Most Trusting When it Comes to Advertising

What to know what types of advertising other groups/generations trust and respond to? Check out the full Nielsen’s Global Trust In Advertising report or contact us to work out an advertising strategy of your own.

--

Do you have other questions? 
Contact Mike Walsh