Australians trust advertisements in newspapers more than any other medium or platform, according to a new report from Nielsen.
Almost six in 10 Australians (58 per cent) say they ‘completely’ or ‘somewhat’ trust ads in newspapers, the Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Report has found.
Newspapers again rank as the most trusted, ahead of television, magazines, radio and outdoor, as well as ads on mobile, search engines and social networks.
Looking at to what extent do Aussies trust various forms of advertising, from traditional to digital, the following results were concluded:
Paid – traditional and online/mobile
| Format | Completely or somewhat trust (per cent) |
| Ads in newspapers | 58 |
| Ads on TV | 56 |
| Ads in magazines | 53 |
| Ads in radio | 52 |
| Outdoor advertising | 51 |
| Ads before movies | 51 |
| TV product placements | 44 |
| Ads in search engine | 34 |
| Online video ads | 32 |
| Ads on mobile device | 31 |
| Online banner ads | 29 |
| Ads on social networks | 29 |
| Text ads on mobile phones | 26 |
Trust in advertising on digital platforms is increasing, especially for mobiles, according to Nielsen. Since the last Global Trust in Advertising Report in 2013 in which newspapers also ranked highest, trust in ads on mobiles has increased by six percentage points.
Despite this growth there is still a considerable gap between trust in ads in newspapers and trust in ads on digital platforms. Twice as many people trust ads in newspapers than trust ads on social networks (newspapers: 58 per cent, social networks: 29 per cent).
When it comes to paid online and mobile advertising, and how much Australians trust these methods of ad targeting, they said:
Paid –online/mobile
| Format | 2013 | 2015 | Change |
| Ads in search engine | 32 | 34 | +2 |
| Online video ads | 31 | 32 | +1 |
| Ads on mobile device | 25 | 31 | +6 |
| Online banner ads | 27 | 29 | +2 |
| Ads on social networks | 27 | 29 | +2 |
| Text ads on mobile phones | 20 | 26 | +6 |
Source: 2013 and 2015 Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Report, Australian data only
“Newspaper media is influential and plays a vital role in the lives of more than 16 million people. Every advertising campaign needs influencers to drive trust, belief and action and newspapers can rightly claim the number one position as the most trusted medium for advertising,” The Newspaper Works CEO Mark Hollands said.
“Our industry campaign, Influential by Nature, re-states to advertisers why newspapers get results and the Nielsen study proves just what a trusted advertising platform they are.”
