Hong Kong finds word-of-mouth most credible

Hong Kong - Hong Kong consumers trust word-of-mouth recommendations more than other types of advertising ranging from newspaper and TV ads to branded websites and consumer-generated content, according to a Nielsen survey. 

The survey revealed 93% of Hong Kong people rely on word-of-mouth as a trusted form of advertising with newspapers coming in second at 77% and television third place at 71%.

While new platforms such as the internet are beginning to catch up with traditional media for advertising revenues, the Nielsen study found that the public still continue to trust traditional advertising channels.

In Hong Kong, brand websites ranked fourth place and consumer opinions posted online ranked sixth place while search engine and online banner ads as well as text ads on mobile phones performed poorly as advertising platforms that the locals would trust.

The Nielsen internet survey cis onducted twice a year among 26, 486 internet users across 47 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, America and the Middle East on their attitudes toward thirteen types of advertising.