In the third and final episode of our 3-part CMO50 video series exploring modern marketing and why it’s become a matter of trust, we’re delighted to be joined by Telstra’s former CMO and now digital services and sales executive, Jeremy Nicholas, and Adobe VP Marketing Asia-Pacific and Japan, Duncan Egan.

There’s no doubt we’re in the midst of a digital-first economy, fuelled by data and driven by technology capability. Yet it’s also a world that relies on the very human concepts of connection and trust.

A year after Australia reported record levels of trust, the latest Edelman Trust Barometer has painted a much more dire picture of the situation in 2022, driven by growing scepticism across all forms of institutions.

None of Australia’s top 100 consumer brands meet consent best practices for cookie management, according to the Deloitte Privacy Index 2020.

In the wake of increased digital marketing following mandatory isolation, new research shows six in 10 consumers are less inclined to use a product if their data is used for any purpose.

Privacy will remain high on the consumer’s agenda, as marketers look to different channels to connect with consumers.

For marketers to build trust, they have to appeal to the heart as well as the head, according to UTS study.

​Marketers hoping to capture the attention of the up and coming consumer must personalise, evangelise, humanise, and fetishise if they are to succeed.

The world is experiencing a crisis of trust as digital and the fourth industrial revolution disrupt industries and jobs. And it's the way organisations harness technology for customer good that will get us through it.

​Australia is a distrusting nation and this will not change until the customer is truly put at the centre of decision making by governments, institutions, and business, according to a report by Edelman.

In the wake of lessening trust around data use and privacy by consumers, Australian Market and Social Research Society (AMSRS) is releasing Fair Data this month, a trust mark helping companies provide consumers with ​data confidence​.

​The role of brand is more important and valuable than ever and is key to accelerating growth, particularly when an overall sense of trust is in steep decline.

Leading brands are personalising well, but most organisations have a way to go before their personalisation is at the level the modern consumer now expects.

Rachael Powell’s job title tells us all we need to know about marketing right now. As chief customer, people and marketing officer at Xero, she is the embodiment of the evolution of marketing and how, in order to achieve true connection with the customer, trust must occur from the inside before it can go out to the customers.

Customer trust is not only vital in an environment where customer expectations are increasing daily and competition is fierce, it is a brand differentiator that could make or break a business. You only have to look at the recent scandals around Facebook or the Australian Banks to see this happening.