Nielsen's "Global Trust in Advertising" study revealed that once again word-of-mouth recommendations are the most trusted form of "advertising" among consumers. Coming in second was brand websites, with 70% of consumers saying they completely or somewhat trust these sites.

A relative to the offline recommendation, online ratings and reviews were the third most trusted form of advertising. Though websites and online consumer opinions are in the top three most trusted outlets, overall traditional media tends to be more trusted than digital.

For example, 63% of consumers surveyed said they trusted TV ads while only 48% trusted online video ads.