Dubbed the “Donald Trump of TripAdvisor” by The Washington Post, Oobah Butler turned a non-existent restaurant, The Shed, into the top rated dining establishment in London on TripAdvisor through social manipulation. Speaking at this week’s Online Retailer conference, Oobah Butler delivered his keynote on ‘Cutting through the bullsh*t of social influence manipulation’ where he detailed his scheme while working as a journalist for Vice.

It seems what platform a marketers’ brand message appears on is just as important as the brand message itself.

​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.

​Corporate branding is more important than ever, as companies with a good reputation can command a minimum 9 per cent premium for products, a new study has shown.

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.

The trust deficit continues to grow between companies and consumers - and to succeed companies must measure and capitalise on their trust assets, according to PwC Australia's entertainment and media industry leader, Megan Brownlow.

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.