When asked about advertising, the word that U.S. consumers most closely associate with it is "false," according to a study from Nielsen BuzzMetrics, which measures brand perceptions. That nugget of
data was revealed during a recent word association project in conjunction with a broader survey by Nielsen of consumer attitudes toward advertising in 47 countries. And one key finding is that
consumers place more trust in personal recommendations than in ads. "The advertising industry has to do better work, and it has to do a better job at communicating the value it brings to consumers,"
says Jonathan Carson, co-founder of BuzzMetrics.
There is, however a big difference in attitudes depending on where the respondents live: Consumers in developing markets have relatively high
levels of confidence in advertising. In places like the Philippines and Brazil, more than two-thirds of people surveyed say they generally trusted it. The other end of the spectrum is Denmark--where
only 28 percent say they trust advertising, while many other Europeans were at, or near, the bottom of the list.
Still, this could be news for the ad economy, as much of the growth in
spending is expected to come in developing countries. "Advertising is newer in those markets, so the cynicism hasn't built up yet," says Carson. "In developing markets, advertising is seen more as a
conveyor of useful information. In more developed markets, people don't need it to play that role. They have too much information already.
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