One third of consumers trust content from brands more than media companies

This is the first installment in a series exploring attitudes to brand-produced content, brand journalism and brand publishing, based on a survey of 1,007 digital content consumers conducted by Toolkits and National Research Group. 36% of consumers say they trust content published by brands more than content from traditional media organizations. 43% say they find brand content more interesting and engaging, and 36% said they find brand content more useful. Men (37%), African Americans (42%), conservatives (41%), and Gen Z (39%) are most likely to trust content from brands more than content from traditional media outlets. Declining trust in media may have opened up opportunities for brands’ content offerings, according to new research conducted by Toolkits and National Research Group. A study of 1,007 U.S. digital content consumers found that 36% trust content published by brands more than content from traditional media organizations – including TV news, newspapers, magazines or online news sites. Only 26% said they trust brand content less than they do content published by media companies. The rest – 38% – said they were unsure. The research also found 43% of respondents find content from brands more interesting and engaging than the content from traditional media organizations. About 20% said they found brand content less interesting and engaging. In terms of utility, 36% said they find content from brands more useful than content from media companies, compared with 22% of respondents who said content from brands is less useful than content from traditional media outlets. The data dovetails with research suggesting trust in mainstream media in the U.S. is declining. This October, Gallup reported that 32% of Americans now say they trust mass media “a great deal” or a “fair amount” to report the news in a full, fair and accurate way – matching Gallup’s lowest reading ever, which was recorded in 2016 amid the throes of the Presidential election. The consumers who are most likely to trust content from brands more than content from traditional media outlets include: men (37%), African Americans (42%), conservatives (41%), and Gen Z (39%). Implications for brand marketers Brands can produce high-quality content The data has noteworthy implications for brands already investing in content, as well as those considering if they should. One ongoing debate has been whether brand-produced content can match the quality of that produced by “media companies.” Brands that produce content are often incentivized to prioritize different performance metrics than media organizations – which can result in content that’s less audience-focused. The data implies that it is possible for brands to produce high-quality content that audiences actually are willing to consume. It also suggests that brands can produce content audiences trust. But quality content remains critical. In an era where generative AI soars in popularity and audiences are inundated with content, quality has become the key differentiating factor for brand publishers – more so than volume. Brands are finding that high-quality content can help boost credibility and legitimacy, bring down acquisition costs, retain customers and contribute to the bottom line. Audiences are receptive to brand-produced content Many brands have attempted to build brand publications that operate relatively independently from other parts of their businesses. They’ve hired journalists and editors, put publications on separate URLs, and borrowed journalistic practices to create publishing brands that can stand on their own. The data suggests that audiences may care less about whether a brand or media organization produces the content, as long as it is of high quality – and that audiences have permission from the audience to truly act as authoritative publishers. That could indicate that brands that have put in the time to create standalone publishing brands may be on the right track and that audiences don’t necessarily mind who is bankrolling the content. And with only 26% of consumers saying they trust traditional media over content from brands, it indicates that audiences are open to consuming and trusting brand content. For brand publishers, this may suggest a gap in the market they may be well positioned to capitalize on. Audiences are receptive to new sources of information and entertainment, and brand publishers should consider how they may be able to step in and satisfy those needs. Brand publishing adds knowledge and expertise in critical areas Brand publishers are increasingly distancing their output from so-called content marketing, eschewing product-focused content in favor of serving audience needs and interests as a priority. It’s been an important shift – brands are focused more on trying to understand exactly what audiences want, versus pushing products or their own agendas. And an increasing number of brands have publicly proclaimed their intentions to not cover their own products or services, and are instead committing to serving a community first and foremost, versus corporate interests. The data indicates that this audience-first approach can pay off – over a third of respondents to the survey said they find brand content more useful than content produced by traditional publishers. Brand publishers therefore have an opportunity to add knowledge and expertise in critical areas that are perhaps undercovered by traditional media. It is worth noting that brands don't operate under the similar pressures of news organizations to cover breaking news, world events, or even topical or timely themes, which in some ways gives them the freedom to cover only exactly what their specific audiences are looking for. That may explain why many say they find brand content more useful than content produced by traditional media. Entertainment is an opportunity Most brand content focuses on education and utility, but there has been an uptick recently in brands trying to fulfill another key audience need: To be entertained. Brands are increasingly investing in creating content such as series, music albums or even full-length movies. Mattel, BMW, Saint Laurent, and Fender, for example, have all launched movies within the past year. With 43% of respondents saying they find brand content more engaging and interesting than content from traditional media, it indicates an opportunity for brands to do more in that realm. Particularly as competition for attention grows, entertainment can be a successful strategy for brand content. Methodology: Research was conducted by Toolkits and National Research Group, a global research and insights firm that works with the world’s largest content creators and marketers. The study surveyed 1,007 U.S. consumers aged 18-64 who reported having a current or previous subscription to at least one digital publication and was conducted in October 2023. The audience for this sample was weighted to reflect the pool of total subscribers to digital publications in the US, based on a larger market-sizing study of 6,562 consumers.

What consumers really think of brand content