How many times have you heard a company say that nine out of 10 doctors agree you should buy what they’re selling? It’s a trope that has existed since the early days of marketing and advertising. Differentiation became important when producers began competing and advertisers made the switch from saying “you need to buy soap” to “you need to buy a particular brand of soap.” Lending an expert’s credibility to a brand can be a key element of differentiation for any communications plan.
How is it possible to maintain credibility in a world increasingly filled with skepticism?
“More doctors smoke CAMELS than any other cigarette,” the advertisement claims. Looking at ads from the past can be startling, but they also demonstrate how third-party validation has evolved over the years. What was once “more” soon became “four out of five.” In an episode of Friends, after Rachel asks Chandler to guess what, he exclaims, “The fifth dentist caved and now they’re all recommending Trident?!” Chandler isn’t the only one poking fun at this advertising idiom – now ads themselves sometimes mock the idea by speculating what could have happened to that stand alone dentist.
Are advertisers telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth? What about PR?
Despite regulations to prevent false advertising, skepticism surrounds “majority agrees” claims. In the case of Trident, how were those previously mentioned five dentists sourced? Do they recommend chewing gum in general?
The average consumer will never get the opportunity to ask these questions, but a journalist might. Which is where PR comes in. While advertising is bought and paid for, PR works to insert brands strategically and organically into news articles. As consumers, we trust our favorite journalists to vet brands and issues they write about, and produce more credible content.
In a world full of competitors, a company should have credible experts consistently at the ready. For instance, if a journalist calls several dermatologists for skincare recommendations and each specialist points to the same remedy, the journalist will feel confident making the recommendation, and we as consumers will feel comfortable trusting that recommendation.
So, it comes full circle.
We’re in a period where consumers are savvy. Instead of a person in a white lab coat backing products, consumers want to know statistics, facts and science behind a product. Expert approval will always have a role in communications, but for the credibility of an expert to truly shine, it needs to be communicated along with scientific explanation.
What evidence of credibility do you look for when researching products?