The advertising industry sits on the precipice of a crisis. Its response to the changing media landscape has not served brands well.
To argue that it is a matter of trust perhaps underlines the extent of that crisis.
When the advertisers crow that they now do not mislead consumers - "our washing powder no longer washes whiter than white" - sort of underpins the argument.
It is as if the advertising industry in all its many parts has forgotten its primary purpose; to sell products, services and ideas.
If brands wish to build trust, they turn to their PR teams. That is what we do.
Earned editorial, put simply, carries infinitely more weight than an advert.
OK, the boundaries are increasingly blurred, but perhaps it is time for the advertising industry to go back to what it does best: creative campaigns that grab our attention, stir emotions and drive sales.
Trust us - it is what we do best.
There’s an issue with trust in advertising. Whether it’s the latest from the Edelman Trust Barometer or the recent goings-on from data harvesting, it’s clear there is much for us to do as an industry. Trust is essential to how our ecosystem works. We need consumers to trust our messages, our products and our services. We need advertisers to trust that their messages are getting to those they wish to reach. Trust, of course, is not a new thing in this industry, and is something we’ve been tackling for some time, and with much success. No longer do we see detergent adverts claiming to make our clothes ‘whiter than white’, soon followed with a new and improved formula with the promise of being ‘even whiter’ (that’s right, ‘a white, whiter than a white whiter than white’).
https://mediatel.co.uk/newsline/2018/05/01/trust-me-im-in-advertising/
