Nielsen: Word-of-Mouth Most Valuable Ad Platform – MediaPost Publications, 10/03/2007 Annotated
Seventy-eight percent of consumers say they trust other consumers’ recommendations over all advertising/marketing avenues. Next in the trust line: Ads in newspapers, at a 63% score. Consumers’ opinions from online blogs came in third at 61%. Brand Web sites were at 60%.
Of the 13 different ad platforms Nielsen surveyed, new digital platforms–including some of that group’s biggest categories–took the last three spots. Search engine ads only generated a 34% trusting score; online banner ads were at 26%; and–dead last–was text ads on mobile phones.
Traditional media, on the whole, did much better than new digital platforms. Television and magazine were in the middle of the pack, each with a 56% score; Radio was at 54%; and brand sponsorships, at 49%.