Word-of-mouth recommendations remain the most credible source of advertising among Southeast Asian consumers, says market research company Nielsen in its recent Global Trust in Advertising Survey. Polling 30,000 online respondents in 60 countries, the survey gauged consumer sentiment in 19 forms of paid, earned and owned advertising mediums.

Across Southeast Asia, 88% of consumers placed the highest level of trust in word-of-mouth recommendations from people they know. Filipino consumers lead the way at 91% (up one point from 2013). Word-of-mouth endorsements gathered the biggest increase in approval from Vietnamese consumers, up eight points to 89%. Similarly, 89% of Indonesians (up four points) gave the advertising source the nod, followed by Malaysians (86%, up one point), Singaporeans at 83% (down two points) and Thais at 82% (three points up).

Trust is fragile though, points out Craig Johnson, managing director, marketing effectiveness and reach portfolio, Nielsen Southeast Asia, North Asia and Pacific. “Practice transparency and accountability, because if trust is broken, your advocates also have the power to damage credibility and reputation,” he advises brand marketers.

Trust in traditional advertising lives on. Ads on TV and in magazines/newspapers continue to be among Southeast Asia’s most trusted forms of paid advertising. Nearly eight in 10 consumers in Indonesia (79%), Thailand (78%), the Philippines (75%), Vietnam (69%), Singapore (64%), and Malaysia (63%) indicated their trust in TV ads — all above or consistent with the global average of 63%. “The proliferation of online formats has not eroded trust in traditional (offline) paid channels. TV still delivers the highest unduplicated reach (i.e., the ad reaches each audience member only once) of 85%-90%,” Johnson says.

This article originally appeared in ContentAsia's print issue published on 20 October 2015.