Edelman, the world’s leading independent public relations firm, with 3,200 employees in 51 offices worldwide, answers the question, Whom do you trust?
“Trust in traditional media continues to wane. Industry analysts or reports and articles in business magazines held strong as the most trusted sources of information about a company.
Trust in corporate communications such as press releases, reports, and e-mails as sources of information about a company jumps five points globally, to 32 percent, while the credibility of corporate or product advertising remains low, at 17 percent.
Last year, we learned that people need to hear something about a company three to five times to believe its veracaity, pointing to the importance of a multi-channel and multi-spokesperson approach (figure 11).
Findings suggest that to advance reputation, companies need to be everywhere, engaging everyone. They must build a mosaic of trust by cultivating a wide circle of expert spokespeople and communicating through a variety of channels to advance the common good.”
– Edelman Trust Barometer, 2010 Annual Global Opinion Leaders Study
