It’s no secret that public trust in advertising has been trending down over time, causing many within the industry to question why and whether anything could be done about it.

I was fortunate to lead (and largely execute) a landmark piece of research commissioned by the Advertising Association’s think-tank (Credos) that put the risk posed by abuse of trust at the top of industry’s agenda.

The research was made public at the LEAD 2019 summit by Keith Weed, President, Advertising Association, alongside an action plan committing industry to address the key issues identified.

Since completing the research, more than 1,500 copies of the corresponding report have been printed and distributed and the findings have been presented at organisations including: the IPA Council, YouTube, Newsworks, Google, Accenture , Direct Line , Microsoft, STV, ITV, Unilever, EPIC, IPM, Mullen Lowe, DCM, QiWi Research Group, VLMY&R, the Royal Mail, and even the House of Lords.

The Advertising Association described this research as the single most important and widely publicised piece of consumer research conducted into public attitudes and beliefs about advertising.