The investigation found that public trust in the UK advertising industry has increased by 25% since 2015.
The findings, announced at today’s Trust Summit hosted by the Advertising Association, ISBA, and the IPA, were unveiled by Credos, the UK’s advertising thinktank.
The report, ‘Rebuilding public trust in UK advertising’, shows that positive drivers of trust include engaging and enjoyable displays of creativity, high-quality campaigns and their social contributions.
It also states that increasing knowledge of the Advertising Standards Authority and the industry’s regulations is also an “impactful and effective way” for the industry to improve trust credentials in the future. The report found a “consistent correlation” between those who say they trust the advertising industry and those who believe it is adequately regulated.
Negative drivers affecting trust continue to include bombardment, although this has decreased slightly since Credos’ last report in 2018. Younger consumers are more likely to be concerned about ‘misleading and invasive marketing techniques’, which includes worries such as misleading claims and unclear information.
Commenting on the findings of the report, the Advertising Association’s 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 Advertising Association’s work these past three years. Working with AA members across the industry, we have focussed 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.”
