Ninety percent or consumers surveyed noted that they trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 percent trusted consumer opinions posted online.

“The explosion in Consumer Generated Media over the last couple of years means consumers’ reliance on word of mouth in the decision-making process, either from people they know or online consumers they don’t, has increased significantly,” says Jonathan Carson, President of Online, International, for the Nielsen Company.”

However, in this new age of consumer control, advertisers will be encouraged by the fact that brand websites are trusted at that same 70 percent level as online consumer opinions.

Carson adds, “We see that all forms of advertiser-led advertising, except ads in newspapers, have also experienced increases in levels of trust and it’s possible that the CGM revolution has forced advertisers to use a more realistic form of messaging that is grounded in the experience of consumers rather than the lofty ideals of the advertisers.”

Brands Gaining Global Trust… In Some Regions More Than Others

In the two years the biannual study has been conducted, brand sponsorship has seen the greatest increase in levels of trust from 49 percent of Internet consumers in April 2007 to 64 percent in April 2009. Regionally, Latin American countries lead the way with 81 percent of both Colombian and Venezuelan Internet consumers and 79 percent of Brazilians trusting brand sponsorships. In contrast, sponsorships hold the least sway amongst Swedish (33 percent), Latvian (36 percent) and Finnish online consumers (38 percent). In comparison, 72 percent of United States Internet consumers trust brand sponsorships, placing the United States 12th out of the 50 countries represented in the survey.

Brand websites, globally the most trusted form of advertiser-led advertising, hold the greatest sway in China (82 percent). Following China are Pakistan (81 percent) and Vietnam (80 percent). However, brand websites tend to be trusted least amongst Swedish (40 percent) and Israeli (45 percent) Internet consumers. In the US, 62 percent of Internet consumers said they trusted brand sponsorships, placing the United States 21st out of the 50 countries surveyed.

“The regional differences provide a clear guide to advertisers as to how they should focus their ad strategy in different countries. It also shows that, despite the authority of word of mouth when it comes to consumer decision-making, advertisers still have a major say in the process. This is backed up by past Nielsen studies which showed that the majority of people posting comments online went to the advertiser website or emailed feedback to the company before they posted. The website, and monitoring feedback through it, is a golden opportunity for advertisers to shape the tone and content of consumer opinion before it reaches the digital masses,” said Carson.

For more regional data, download the Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey press release.

With a focus on information and irreverence, Mediaweek has launched MediaFreakBlog.com, joining sister sites Adfreak and Brandfreak. Jim Cooper, Executive Editor, AdweekMedia and editor of Mediafreak explains the strategy behind Nielsen’s most recent blog offering.

What’s the goal of Mediafreak?
Jim Cooper: Mediaweek’s mantra has always been cover the content and follow the dollars, and Mediafreak will operate under the same mission-just in blog form. Our staff writers and freelance contributors will bring their deep institutional knowledge to bear to deliver an insightful, informative and entertaining counterpart to Mediaweek and Mediaweek.com.

Who is the audience? Is it broader than Mediaweek?
JC: Mediafreak is designed to appeal to a wide ranging audience of media professionals as well as a consumer and enthusiast audience interested in all things television, publishing and digital media.

How does it differ from the other blogs, Adfreak and Brandfreak?
JC: Mediafreak will solely cover the ad-support media business and, with our writers expertise and personalities, will be both distinct from and complimentary to its sister blogs.

Are you going to break news or is it largely to riff on the news?
JC: We will break news on Mediaweek.com and use Mediafreak as place where that news can be looked at through the prisms of context, insight, humor, outrage and a dash of snark — but we don’t want it to be gratuitously nasty in tone. We hope the blog will diversify our coverage of the media industry.

Brandfreak has an obsession with the brand Snuggies, what are some likely targets in Mediafreak articles?
JC: Well, we’ll always keep an eye on the general ad marketplace throughout the year, but issues like the future of media measurement and transition from traditional media to digital will always be broad themes behind our filings. The uncertain future of magazines, local broadcasting and newspapers will be ripe fruit for us to pluck as well. But the media industry is a vast waterfront to cover and fodder for Mediafreak will range from riffs on TV Land’s reality series The Cougar to insight on Supreme Court rulings. We’ll try to get freaky with it all.

Visit: Meadifreakblog.com

Jon Gibs, Vice President, Media Analytics, Nielsen Online

SUMMARY: Brand advertising shrinks. Online ad revenues flatten. More advertisers spread their spend across more sites. What’s the fix? Nielsen recommends a four-point plan featuring 1) more creative online ad format options, 2) more concentrated content to fewer targeted audiences, 3) a focus on web sites with high consumer satisfaction ratings and 4) metrics emphasizing time per page, not pages per person.

As the economy goes, so go brand advertising budgets. Advertising expenditures for 2008 declined 2.6% over the prior year, a reflection of repressed consumer spending and higher commodity prices which conspired to put a crimp on margins. Hispanic cable TV and cable TV were the only media to post growth numbers in 2008 at 9.6% and 7.8% respectively. Things could have been worse. Those numbers incorporate the incremental lift delivered by the presidential election and Summer Olympic ad buys.

While things looked pretty good on the brand ad front in 2007, there’s been a steady decline in ad spending during 2008, attributable to a bad economy, rough overall advertising environment and a plethora of web sites competing for dollars with little to offer in the way of differentiation. Perhaps the biggest upstart in the downturn is the exploding influence of non-monetized media such as social networks.

Search for an answer
With the advent of reliable, accessible media players, video has become an Internet staple and changed the face of online advertising. The medium has risen above search as a primary form of consumption, while predictable ad formats like buttons, banners, leaders, skyscrapers or rectangles are losing their luster, and more importantly, their ability to engage sophisticated surfers.

No doubt, online media has unrealized potential. Roughly 57% of Fortune 1,000 companies advertised online in at least half the quarters from the past three years. Unfortunately no single winning strategy or reliable rule book has emerged to guide advertisers looking to build brand loyalty, share of mind or unit sales.

Too many to matter
While the Internet has become an accepted part of brand media planning, 20% of Fortune 1,000 firms are distributing ad dollars across as many as 32+ web sites and another 20% of large firms are distributing ad dollars across a range of 8–31outlets. Perhaps the most troubling indicator is the fact that many companies in the 32+ site group are impossibly fragmenting their ad schedules across more than 3,000 individual sites.

New metrics and new thinking are called for. Topping the wish list of big-spending advertisers willing to consolidate their campaigns on a handful of URLs are savvy web sites offering more experimental ad formats that encourage creativity and boost consumer involvement and interaction.

The call for enhanced creativity is a universal desire. According to a Nielsen study, advertisers pined for “out of the box” thinking, new ad formats, more collegial input from publishers, digital dialogues with consumers featuring more candid and authentic discussions, and demonstrable consumer value.

Who’s who?
A Nielsen Online custom analysis of the Ad Relevance database of 465 web sites and 617 Fortune 1,000 advertisers were reviewed in an effort to define companies based on their online advertising strategies. Four discrete segments emerged:

Long-Term Partners: the most desirable advertiser segment, these firms buy prestige media brands that deliver a combination of large reach and loyal viewers. Online ad schedules tend toward a high concentration on a handful of sites.

Niche Partners: tend toward smaller, local sites like area TV stations and newspapers, often with a niche focus. While their buys are concentrated, niche partner are lower volume advertisers.

Online Dabblers: big name big brands, with intermittent ad schedules often designed to test a niche, or deployed as part of a cross-media deal. This segment represents the next generation of heavy Internet advertisers.

Network Heavy: prefer to buy ad networks and portals pursuing a large volume, low concentration strategy which diffuses both ad message and budget impact. Basically, these advertisers buy everything and only partner with a web site on occasion.

Leading by example
Some advertisers are finding success. ConAgra, Exxon Mobil, Clorox, Cisco Systems, Foot Locker and Barnes & Noble each bought millions of online impressions in the fourth quarter of 2008, and further amped-up the impact by concentrating more than 90% of their digital dollars on a single web site.

ESPN.com recently underwent a complete overhaul of their web site. The redesign moved video and advertising to the forefront, while dropping a leader board that rolled over content in favor of one that expands down without veiling content. Video offerings now sit at the top of article pages instead of the corners, and are easy-to-use with seamless streaming. The new look has posted some new and impressive numbers: 45 seconds per page, an audience of 19.5 million visitors and 29% of advertising utilizes non-standard formats.

Change the perspective
The Internet is still evolving and maturing as an advertising medium. Tough economic conditions are forcing the hand of web publishers who need to revisit their offerings. First order of business: develop more meaningful metrics to measure Internet advertising impact. Time per impression is more important than clicks or even audience. Two seconds on a page impression, regardless of reach, will likely yield little return per impression.

Sites will need to reduce page clutter and stop cutting pages into smaller and smaller units to increase ad opportunities. Instead, the focus should shift to building a strong site reputation so consumer goodwill and positive feelings transfer from the site to advertisers’ brands.

Lastly, reach is important. Not just the absolute number of visitors, but the demographics of those visitors and their relationship with the site. Part of the online ad buy equation will be to gauge the intensity of interaction and nature of the audience since fewer sites will be selected. The ultimate measure of success? When Internet advertising achieves creative parity with award-winning network campaigns.  An opportunity still simmering in the background: figuring out a way to leverage the nascent power of social media. When it comes to online advertising, the best is yet to come.