Trust Equals Money, Annual AMAA Study Reveals

The latest third-party annual research conducted on behalf of the Audited Media Association of Australia (AMAA) shows that media channel trust is a key influencer in media investment, with 86 per cent of industry respondents agreeing that where there is trust, there is more willingness to spend.

The Trust Equation study, conducted by independent research company The Insights Grill, also revealed that eight in 10 marketers and media agencies prioritise media channels that supply transparent, audited data.

“Trust is the invisible thread that influences media buying decisions. Advertising trading doesn’t run solely on analytics and money – it also runs on trust,” AMAA chief executive Josanne Ryan said.

“The 310 marketers and media professionals who completed our survey provided feedback on the issues affecting trust levels and how the industry can step up to collectively address them.”

While proof of performance and cross-media audience metrics remained the top two industry concerns, awareness of ad fraud increased more than any other industry issue – up 17 per cent year-on-year to 44 per cent.

And it is independent industry bodies that should be taking the lead with solutions, according to 72 per cent of respondents.

When it comes to digital channels, there was an across-the-board increase in the desire for more industry oversight to build trust – the top channels noted were programmatic trading, social media, online video/streaming and mobile.

The impetus for increased programmatic trading transparency is intensified, with the survey indicating that more than half of online media will be bought programmatically within three years.

Programmatic is clearly on the radar of agencies, with a much higher proportion of agency respondents – 80 per cent compared to 32 per cent of marketers – indicating that this channel needs to build trust.

The industry also recognised the role of marketers as the leaders of change with three-quarters of respondents agreeing that the industry issues of transparency and accountability need their focus.

Here are the key insights from the report:

Trust equals money with 86 per cent of respondents agreeing ‘where there is trust, there is more willingness to spend’.

Verification is at the heart of the trust equation, as 80 per cent prioritised transparent, audited channels.
Programmatic and social media are identified as being the channels most in need of oversight to build trust with social media rising the most – up 32 per cent year-on-year.
In terms of areas the industry needs to address, proof of performance and cross-media measurement remain the top priorities but ad fraud recorded the biggest increase – up 17 per cent year-on-year to 44 per cent.
72 per cent agreed industry bodies should be driving industry solutions to address ad fraud.
In terms of potential governance frameworks to assist the industry, 89 per cent rated as important industry certification of programmatic desks and ad exchanges as meeting best practice.

75 per cent agree the issues the industry faces in transparency and accountability will only get fixed if marketers push for it.

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Audited Media Association of Australia Rhonda and Ketut. AAMI