Carson also welcomed Hiroto Ebata of Coca-Cola Japan, Heidi Browning of Pandora and David Young of Hotels.com to share insights on their experiences with mobile apps.

What works?
Carson noted that branded apps that “give back” are much more popular than other apps. Rewards apps are particularly popular.

When it comes to promoting and marketing an app, Carson underscored the importance of “word-of-mouth.” In fact, for branded apps, it is the most common form of “discovery.” (For other kinds of apps, “searching the app store” is tops.) Consumers also indicated that brand affinity and third party endorsements in the form of ratings and reviews were crucial in their decision to download a branded app.

For Pandora, Heidi Browning, noted that their strategy for mobile hinged on three key points. “Keep it simple,” she said. “Using the app should be as easy as turning on the radio.” Making the experience “seamless” was also critical, so that users could have the same experience across devices. And finally, make it personal. “When you do personalization well it pays off because it creates passion,” Browning noted. “And passion breeds engagement.”

Carson detailed additional musts for a successful app:

• Define success in advance: Who are you trying to reach? What are you trying to achieve? What are the right metrics or Key Performance Indicators (KPI)?
• Apps can support your strategy; they are not a strategy in and of themselves
• Give consumers something useful: price comparisons, stain removal tips, recipes, weather
• Protect the brand: A great app can revitalize your brand, a “buggy” one will destroy it

Additionally, 68% feel that, as a critical driver of competition between companies, advertising leads to better products and lower prices. Consumers’ views on the economic benefits of advertising are broadly consistent across the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

The survey also shows a clear majority of consumers across all markets understands the importance of advertising and sponsorship as a critical source of funding for exhibitions, cultural and sporting events (81%) and the media (67%).

The survey also revealed some interesting discrepancies between the attitudes of consumers across regions about advertising as a source of information.

Said Jonathan Carson, President of Online, International for The Nielsen Company: “European consumers appear to be more skeptical, with only half agreeing that advertising helps them make better choices. Consumers in the rest of the world are much more enthusiastic: four out of five Latin Americans, three quarters of consumers in Asia-Pacific and seven in 10 in North America agree.”

When asked whether advertising is entertaining, 79% in Latin America, 76% in Asia-Pacific and 59% in North America agreed. In contrast, almost half of European consumers disagreed.

WFA has partnered with The Nielsen Company in order to gauge consumer attitudes to advertising as part of a broader campaign to champion advertising at a time when policy makers worldwide are considering introducing new restrictions.

Said Stephan Loerke, WFA Managing Director: “Advertising is a powerful economic stimulus, and consumers are clearly aware of this. But, we still have more work to do so that governments, too, understand the important role it plays and take this into account when formulating policy.”

Download the complete Trust, Value and Engagement in Advertising report.

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.