PTI

New Delhi: Even as corporates set aside a huge chunk of reserves for advertising expenditures and planning unique campaigns to outsmart competitors, word-of-mouth advertising still reigns as a selling tool, a recent survey shows.

“Close to 87% of internet accessing Indians still trust recommendations from others over any other kind of advertising, making word-of-mouth advertising the most powerful tool in the industry today,” a recent global Nielsen internet survey said.

India ranks fourth amongst the top 10 countries globally which trust recommendations from consumers, with Hong Kong leading the list with 93%, the survey added. Other countries in this preference list were Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea, Philippines, New Zealand and Ireland.

“Indians by nature tend to believe a friend or an associate while evaluating a product as the trust factor is present here, which is often missing in other forms of advertising,” The Nielsen Company, executive director, client solutions Sarang Panchal said.

With 77%, newspapers come second in the list of advertising media that is most trusted by the Indian consumers.

Surprisingly, magazines at 71% and television with 65% preference stood fifth and sixth on the list, though marketers spend the most on these forms of advertising.

As per the survey, new platforms like the Internet are beginning to slowly catch up with the conventional media in terms of advertising revenues, with consumer opinions posted online and brand specific websites standing third and fourth slots holding 73% and 72% viewer preference respectively.