Study Finds Consumers are Skeptical Towards Marketing

Insights in Marketing research indicates that customers don't consider advertisers trustworthy

CHICAGO – May 21, 2014 – As advertisers and marketers continue to spend bigger budgets each year targeting consumers, research shows that those campaigns are missing the mark. A new study by Insights in Marketing, LLC (www.insightsinmarketing.com), a full-service marketing research consultancy based in the Chicago area, revealed fewer than one-third of the American public believed the content in advertorial messages.

“In 2013, US ad media increased spending 3.6 percent to hit somewhere between $160 and $177 billion,” said Tinesha Craig, division director for Insights in Marketing.“There’s no denying that marketers rely heavily on ads to drive their brand messages home and draw consumers in. But what’s the point in those ads if theconsumer doesn’t trust you?”

In 2012, research by Insights in Marketing found that just 10 percent of men and women agree that marketers effectively communicate with them. In the latest study,the marketing research consultancy followed up and delved more deeply into why consumers felt the way they do towards marketing by asking 3,450 consumers thefollowing questions:

• Do you believe what advertisers and marketers say about their products/services?
• Do you believe advertisers and marketers are trustworthy?
• Do the people and images in advertising reflect reality?

The answers revealed that brands have to overcome enormous levels of skepticism. Only 31 percent of those surveyed agreed that they believed what advertisers and marketers said about their products/services, while the remainder didn’t believe the ads or indicated indifference. In addition, just more than one-quarter of people surveyed, or 26 percent, believed advertisers and marketers were trustworthy. And just 25 percent of consumers said that the images portrayed in advertising reflected reality. 

When analyzed by gender, the results were even more telling:

• 29 percent of women believed what marketers say about their products/services, compared with 34 percent of men.
• 22 percent of women trusted advertisers and marketers, compared with 30 percent of men.
• 22 percent of women believed the people and images in advertising reflected reality, compared with 27 percent of men.

The results showed that millennial men were actually the most open to advertising messages.

• 47 percent of millennial men believed what marketers said about their products/services, compared with 34 percent of millennial women.
• 42 percent of millennial men trusted advertisers and marketers, compared with 24 percent of millennial women.
• 43 percent of millennial men believed the people and images in advertising reflected reality, compared with 25 percent of millennial women.
• 47 percent of millennial men said, “I buy products/services based on advertising,” compared with 36 percent of millennial women.

Despite the high levels of distrust that consumers revealed in the recent survey, there is a silver lining: 57 percent of consumers agreed with the statement “I learn a lot about products/services from advertising.” So even though ad campaigns may not influence the majority of purchasing decisions, they do increase awareness.

To learn more about this study and others, please visit http://www.insightsinmarketing.com.

About Insights in Marketing, LLC:

Insights in Marketing, LLC (IIM) is a research-based marketing consultancy dedicated to maximizing your brand’s impact by providing a complete consumer understanding. IIM’s experienced consultants deliberately leverage qualitative, quantitative and psychology-based research approaches that start with the consumer and offer a definitive roadmap for success.  For more information about IIM, visit the IIM website, blog, LinkedIn, Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Media Contact:
Lauren Russ
Connect Communications, Inc.
773.868.0966
Lauren@connectcomsinc.com

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