Personal recommendations and consumer opinions posted online are most trusted forms of advertising globally

The Nielsen survey, the largest of its kind, shows that nine in every 10 Internet consumers worldwide (90%) trust recommendations from people they know, whilst seven in every 10 (70%) trust consumer opinions posted online.

In the UAE, the survey shows 95% of Internet consumers trust recommendations from people they know, making word of mouth the most trusted medium. Editorial content came in second place, with 84% of UAE respondents trusting it completely or somewhat, ahead of newspaper ads (78%), brand websites (72% each), brand sponsorships (68%) and consumer opinions posted online (66%).

Magazine ads, billboards and other outdoor media, radio ads, ads before movies and on TV came next in the UAE list. The forms of advertising least likely to elicit a degree of trust from Emirates-based audiences: text ads on mobile phones, with 70% either not trusting it much or at all, online banner ads (65%) and ads generated by search engine results (61%).

Jonathan Carson, President of Online, International, for the Nielsen Company, says:

"The explosion in Consumer Generated Media over the last couple of years - we are now tracking over 100 million CGM sources - means consumers' reliance on word of mouth in the decision-making process, either from people they know or online consumers they don't, has increased significantly."

He adds, "However, we see that all forms of advertiser-led advertising, except ads in newspapers, have also experienced increases in levels of trust and it's possible that the CGM revolution has forced advertisers to use a more realistic form of messaging that is grounded in the experience of consumers rather than the lofty ideals of the advertisers."

In the new age of consumer control, regional advertisers will be encouraged by the fact that brand websites and brand sponsorships are quickly catching up to newspaper advertising, the most trusted form of advertiser-led advertising in the UAE. Globally, the UAE placed as 16th most favourable towards brand sponsorships (out of 50 countries surveyed), 18th most favourable towards brand websites and 31st for trusting consumer opinions online.

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"The regional differences provide a clear guide to advertisers as to how they should focus their ad strategy in different countries. It also shows that, despite the authority of word of mouth when it comes to consumer decision-making, advertisers still have a major say in the process," Carson said.

"This is backed up by past Nielsen studies which showed that the majority of people posting comments online went to the advertiser website or emailed feedback to the company before they posted. The website, and monitoring feedback through it, is a golden opportunity for advertisers to shape the tone and content of consumer opinion before it reaches the digital masses," said Carson.

Tahir Khalil, Head of Nielsen Online for Mena, said, "It is clear from the survey that online is a medium on the move and the trust levels in it as a category are building momentum, not only here in the UAE but also globally. It is for this reason Nielsen has rolled out its new Market Intelligence offering, a service based on a precise site-centric measurement technology that provides competitive benchmarking and market-level information on Web sites for the publishing and advertising industries."