How much do we trust the messengers? - marketing - Column

Brandweek,  March 16, 1998  by John Bissell

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Madelyn Hochstein, a researcher of social trends, presented a point of view at the recent J. D. Power Automotive Advertising Strategy Conference that any marketer, regardless of product category, must consider. Hochstein, the president and co-founder (with Daniel Yankelovich) of DYG, Inc., said there is an increased public distrust of both the entertainment and news media, media that get billions of our marketing dollars every year. Parents are highly concerned about sex and violence on TV and in movies. An alarming 70% of the public think that those who control the TV industry don't share their moral values. And 63% said news reporting is often improperly influenced by the media's desire to make a profit.

This part of the survey was taken prior to the Clinton imbroglio over Monica Lewinsky, which has turned into more of a public indictment of the news media than an indictment of the President. Newer numbers show that 9% of the public is fully convinced that Clinton had an affair, but 73% think reporters are convinced he had an affair; not a great display of public confidence in unbiased news reporting.

I recently read a searing criticism of CBS' Olympic coverage, which of course was reflected in low ratings. The reasons why may be many, but the over-commercialization of what once was a celebration of unpaid athletic excellence clearly is taking its toll. Even the CBS anchor was caught wearing a Nike logo on his jacket.

This big question cannot be dodged by marketing people: How can trust be nurtured via media that are becoming super-saturated by mistrust?

Marketers first need to think about how well the content of their advertising responds to consumer demand for honesty and impartiality. As it stands, few measure up: Airline ads headlining one-way fares rather than round-trips; car leasing deals where the devil is in the details of hidden costs and restrictions; telecommunications companies that sometimes steal our business without even telling us.

Hochstein suggests that one solution is to create your own medium. One possibility is direct marketing, where the environment might be your own direct mail piece. On TV, the Hallmark Hall of Fame programs are the gold standard for controlling content.

Creating one's own medium, though, should not be confused with using "push" technology, which is intended to tip the balance of power to the content provider. The failure of such push strategies is proof positive that consumers will not yield their control over, for example, the World Wide Web. This phenomenon is especially compelling when we consider that the Internet took just five years to reach 50 million households, compared with 13 years for television and 38 for radio to achieve similar reach.

Marketers are well-advised to choose a medium based on its ability to reinforce the reliability, honesty and integrity of the message. One way is to use special-interest cable channels and magazines (food, travel, sports, etc.) that are directly connected to your product or service.

America's Most Wanted, the Fox network television show, is pursuing an especially innovative approach. The show is not only highly-rated, but claims to have led to some 500 captures of criminals. The program also provides viewers with security and safety tips. "America's Most Wanted has instant credibility with consumers," says Jim Holbrook, president of the Zipatoni Company, St. Louis, the program's agency-of-record. "The operative question is not what can the program sell, but how can it help consumers improve their personal security."

Zipatoni's answer is for America's Most Wanted to create and sponsor personal safety and security departments at retail. The strategy, still under development, would provide shoppers with an organized assortment of personal security products--locks, alarms, safety lights, etc. This is the right idea, especially when you realize that safety and security products are a $50 billion industry that has yet to coalesce as a category at retail.

Consumer attitudes toward entertainment and news media may not take a change for the better anytime soon. It will be interesting to watch, however, whether consumer attitudes toward advertising improve once marketers identify media and messages that put the consumer in control.

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