Learn the steps your clients can take to grow more trusted relationships with their users.

Introduction

As privacy becomes increasingly important, there is an opportunity for the advertising industry to connect with users and build greater trust in the ecosystem. Google aims to help keep the ecosystem thriving in a privacy-safe world.

• User trust is crucial for business success globally.
• According to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer, brand trust is the second most important purchasing factor across most geographies, age groups, genders, and income levels.
• Google’s research with BCG shows that trusted brands are twice as likely to receive personal information from consumers.

Key Trust Levers

To help clients earn their customers’ trust, four key levers are identified: Security, Transparency, Control, and Usefulness.

1. Security
   • Security involves protecting personal information by safeguarding user data.
   • 59% of consumers surveyed stated that ensuring their personal information is safe would improve their online shopping experience.
   • Google’s security measures include:
     • Gmail automatically blocking more than 100 million phishing attempts.
     • Google Photos encrypting 4 billion photos.
     • Google Play Protect running security scans on 100 billion installed apps worldwide.
2. Transparency
   • Transparency means being clear about data usage in a simple and understandable way.
   • Google has discovered that users value easy, relevant ways to clarify data practices.
   • 56% of US consumers believe that a dedicated privacy page would boost their trust in a brand.
   • Google launched the Advertiser Identity Verification program to verify advertiser identities and enhance ad transparency.
3. Control
   • Control involves offering users the ability to easily manage their data and preferences.
   • Google allows users to change personalization settings and provide feedback on the ads they see.
   • The Advertiser Identity Verification program includes new advertiser pages where users can see ads from a specific verified advertiser over the past 30 days.
4. Usefulness
   • Usefulness translates security, transparency, and control into relevant and helpful experiences for users.
   • 3 out of 4 people only want to see ads that are relevant and useful to them.
   • Marketers should provide helpful, in-the-moment controls that empower users to choose their ad experiences.
   • Google’s My Ad Center allows users to tune their ads and manage privacy settings directly from the ads they see or via the Center itself.

Building Trust with Users

Users want helpful and safe experiences with the brands they care about. Trust will shape the future of marketing, and companies should respect consumer expectations while building valuable experiences. By investing in security, transparency, control, and usefulness, the advertising industry can strengthen privacy strategies and foster trusted relationships with clients and users.

Key Takeaways

• Users are increasingly concerned about how their online information is collected and used for advertising.
• Trust directly influences users’ willingness to share data and make purchases.
• Use the four key trust levers: Security, Transparency, Control, and Usefulness to gain users’ trust.
• Ultimately, users want helpful and safe experiences with the brands they care about.

Resources

To learn more about this topic, select the following links.

• Read Google’s 2022 research with BCG for consumer trust insights.
• Read more about how brand trust impacts the purchasing power in The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report.
• Check out our new one-sheeter of the key privacy-safe solutions that you can activate today.
• Check out the digital marketing playbook for driving privacy and performance.

The following are the questions from this article:

• Q: Why does Google continuously invest in the security of its consumer-facing products?
• Q: How do users benefit from the advertiser identity verification program?
• Q: Which key levers would you recommend to strengthen user trust?
• Q: What are the key trust levers to gain user’s trust?
• Q: What should marketers strive to give users?