We knew it and Nielsen has again confirmed it!

If trust is key for your brand, then earned media (eg editorial and word of mouth rather than paid-for advertising) is tops.

And conversation (not just content) is king, with online consumer reviews the second most trusted source of brand information and messaging.*

So while plenty of people are banging on about the blurring of lines between advertising and editorial, and the turf war between ad agencies, media agencies and PR agencies, one thing is clear.

You HAVE to have people on your team who understand how digital and ‘traditional’ journalists, editors and producers think and work if you want consumers to trust you.

Do ad agency creatives or suits know how many deadlines a day a newspaper journo has with a single story? (It’s three by the way - two of them online and one for print if the story has legs.)

And on the flip side, how many PR agencies would be able to create a media schedule or write a Cannes Lion-winning 60-second piece of film?

So yes, marketers should keep us all working together but don’t blur lines when trust is on the line.

*Read the report here > Earned advertising more trusted than ever, but paid media still strong: Nielsen

Andrea Kerekes