Public trust in ads up but it still trails other industries

disciplines nUK advertising’s image is finally starting to improve – up from its 2015 nadir when 44% of the public said they trusted the sector to 55% in 2020 – although the champagne is still on hold as the industry still lags others, including finance, retail and even the much maligned energy firms.

That is the conclusion of a new report by Advertising Association think-tank Credos, which revisited its ground-breaking Public Trust in Advertising research from 2018 in a new study – Rebuilding Public Trust in UK Advertising – that studied the positive and negative drivers which most affect public trust in the sector.

The study follows work done by the AA’s Trust Working Group, chaired by IPA director general Paul Bainsfair and his ISBA counterpart, Phil Smith, as part of the Trust Action Plan.

It reveals that the public continues to respond best to high quality advertising that entertains and engages; research showed the quality of advertising is the most important positive driver of public trust (with an importance score of 32/100).

The social contribution of advertising was the second most significant driver of trust (with an importance score of 10/100). The industry’s work during the pandemic to promote health messages was cited as an important factor, as was increased diversity of representation in advertising’s work.

Credos’ report cites the impact of a positive social contribution as an opportunity for the industry to do more on big issues, such as climate change.

The report highlighted increased concerns about the boundaries of advertising in our lives, with bombardment seen as the most important driver of the public’s distrust in advertising (19/100).

The significance of misleading and invasive advertising techniques (including a growing experience of scams or fraudulent communications) as a driver of distrust increased more than any other between 2018 and 2021 – most notably among younger consumers. For these younger consumers, this is now the number one driver of negative perceptions towards advertising.

Those who are the least trusting of advertising believe there are not enough regulations. However, the report insists there is an opportunity to address this by increasing the public’s awareness of the Advertising Standards Authority and its regulation of legitimate advertising, including online.

Even so, in 2020, the public’s trust in other industries, including banking/finance, retail/shopping, music, phone/mobile technology, gaming, energy and media, was much higher on average, at 72%.

Credos said: “The other industries that we are being compared to have seen a similar improvement, and thus advertising’s relative position hasn’t changed, with the gap between the average of all other industries tested and the advertising industry at around 17% since 2017.”

AA chief executive Stephen Woodford said: “The public’s trust in our work isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have and has been central to the AA’s work these past three years. Working with AA members across the industry, we have focused on delivering a ‘Trust Action Plan’ to arrest the decline of public trust in advertising.

“As all the evidence shows, trust pays – with better returns on campaigns and better long-term value for the brands they support. The new Credos research provides us again with brilliant insights on how to improve our relationship with our most important customer, the public.”

Meanwhile, the Advertising Standards Authority has revealed the findings of post-campaign research of its 2020 pilot ad campaign which ran in Scotland.

Developed in partnership with the AA’s Trust Working Group, the Scottish campaign appeared in donated time and space across Scottish media and promoted the ASA’s role in ensuring ads are “legal, decent, honest and truthful”, in all media channels. It was devised by The Leith Agency with media planning by Mediacom Edinburgh.

The ASA’s post campaign research reveals that 33% of Scottish adults recall seeing or hearing its ads. The statistically significant increase (50% to 56%) in those now more certain that an organisation exists for complaints about advertising was driven by those who had seen the ASA’s ad (61% certain). Recognition of the ASA’s logo is up and, importantly, trust in the ASA is a third higher among those who saw or heard the ASA’s ad.

Most significantly of all, the results also show awareness of the ASA is a powerful driver of trust in the ad industry as a whole. Those who saw/heard the ads proved two-thirds more likely to trust the ad industry than those who didn’t – and 50% more likely to trust most ads.

ASA chief executive Guy Parker said: “(The campaign) has given us important insights into public attitudes, awareness and trust in the ASA, as well as the advertising industry more broadly, findings we’ve been able to benchmark against the UK.

“Our pilot shows us that increasing awareness leads to increasing trust in the ASA, which leads to increasing trust in advertising. And it reminds the public of ads they love. We’re now looking forward to rolling the campaign out across the UK as we continue to reassure the public that advertising across media is regulated by the ASA, working hard to protect them from misleading, harmful or offensive ads, wherever they appear.”

Woodford added: “The results show just what can be done if we communicate clearly and consistently to the public about the ASA’s role in regulating advertising in all channels. Everyone in our industry should consider what they can do to support the next iteration of this campaign as we roll it out, as well as what they can do more generally to support the ASA and its work.”

A broader, UK-wide integrated marketing campaign by the AA will run from this autumn into 2022.

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