The first big finding: "In the wake of a recession that saw large, global companies such as Lehman Brothers, General Motors, and AIG collapse, trust in business imploded." The public has lost confidence.
The report shows that "people now trust one another more than they do established institutions."
This is huge. It's big in this political year but also big because it dovetails with the text big finding.
"Social media saw the biggest percentage increase (75 percent) in trust among media sources."
The report goes on to say, "As government officials and CEOs become less a source of trusted information, people are once again turning to their peers. “A person like me” has re-emerged as one of the three-most credible spokespeople, with its biggest increase in credibility since 2004."
This report continues to back up what I have been predicting for several years: As a marketer you are in the content business. It is about gathering real stories from people affected by your business or organization. As Andy Sernovitz would say, unless your next ad is "remarkable," that is people will talk about it and take action, don't run another ad until it is.
Click here to download the Executive Summary.
