Who do you trust when deciding what to buy? According to the recent ExpertVoice Consumer Trust Panel, when deciding what to buy, only 4% of consumers trust celebrity endorsements and only 7% trust sponsored athletes. When a 500 consumer panel was surveyed, Eighty-three percent indicated that close relationships from friends and family members were trusted the more for recommendations followed by 52% from co-workers. More than half (54%) of them admitted to trusting recommendations from professional experts such as coaches, and instructors. These findings may give us insight on how we can market our agricultural commodities. Agricultural Farming and ranching are trusted trades by most marketing standards. You would be hard pressed to see an athlete, celebrity or musician promoting the industry today.
![](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/volusiaco/files/2018/08/1516743_1403667756569711_584326384_n-300x300.jpg)
![](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/volusiaco/files/2018/08/sofia-vergara-pepsi-2013-225x300.jpg)
ExpertVoice (www.ExpertVoice.com) is the world’s largest advocacy marketing company, with more than 1 million vetted experts with the world’s top brands. Recently, (June 2017) it investigated the buying behavior of a weighted U.S. Census Audience of more than 500 consumers, specifically looking into who consumers trust for recommendations on what to buy. CEO Tom Stockham reveals that “Brands spend significant marketing dollars to raise awareness and ensure they’re top of mind for the consumer, but the results of this panel indicated that when it came to actually purchasing a product, consumers want a recommendation from someone they believe to be authentic. In today’s environment, celebrities, influencers and sometimes even the brands themselves aren’t viewed as trusted — so consumers are looking elsewhere.”
![](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/volusiaco/files/2018/08/bushesbeans-300x169.jpg)
Funny, isn’t trust implicit when you think of agriculture? Our close family, friends and co-workers share passion for food, drink in our day-to-day life. In order to promote Florida farming, we need to celebrate our authentic Florida family lifestyles, enriching relationships and unique food and drink by marketing to future generations of shoppers and consumers on the trustworthiness of our distinct products. Since family, friends and co-workers offer the most trusted endorsement it’s smart to capitalize on it. One successful example includes actors portraying cranberry farmers by Ocean Spray Inc. They have become highly successful in gaining trust from consumers to promote their cranberry juice. So too, is an inviting outdoor BBQ as depicted by Bush’s Baked Beans Inc. The commercial features owner Jay Bush, as a ‘familiar friend’ or ‘neighborly pal’, including ‘Duke’, his amusing dog. We can learn a lot from this panel study to promote Florida agriculture at the local level to younger generations. Promote Florida food and drink at your events in recipes and share your experiences with family, friends and coworkers. After all, Florida farming and ranching is trusted, and so is your opinion.
For more information about this article: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/celebrities-professional-athletes-and-influencers-for-advice-about-what-to-buy-new-study-finds-consumers-dont-trust-them-300666229.html