OOH, in one thought: Trust

What is trust?

Last week, two comments had me thinking about the role of trust in marketing. First one, in an audit meeting, a retired 60-year-old consultant advised us to NOT TRUST what is there on the Internet, and he added that he is extremely circumspect about using content directly from any online platform for his presentations.

Secondly, I heard my teenage daughter advising my mother not to trust any message, information, or gyan that is floating on social media messaging apps.

I wondered what TRUST is and how consumers decide what to trust and what not to trust. Which media platforms are trustworthy, and which are not?

Trust, I believe, is the invisible glue that holds human connections together, whether between individuals, teams, or consumers and brands. At its core, trust is the belief that someone or something is reliable, capable, and acting in your best interest.

From a scientific standpoint, trust is rooted in neurobiology. Research shows that trust releases oxytocin, a powerful brain chemical that enhances empathy and collaboration.

According to Harvard Business Review, people in high-trust environments are 50% more productive, 76% more engaged, and 40% less burnt out than those in low-trust workplaces. Trust doesn’t just feel good – it performs.

In advertising and branding, trust is even more critical. With consumers overwhelmed by marketing messages across dozens of screens and platforms daily, they’ve become selective about whom they trust and what they believe.

Trust is the gateway to real engagement. When people trust a brand, they don’t just see its message; they feel it. They share it, talk about it, and invite it into their lives. Research shows that when consumers trust a brand, they're 2x more likely to engage, 3x more likely to recommend it, and more forgiving when something goes wrong—like Halwa from our mother's kitchen.

In marketing, such confidence creates a compounding effect. Trust breeds attention. Attention creates memory. Memory leads to action. And once action is driven by trust, you no longer have a customer but rather have an advocate.

So is true for a medium.

In Indian households, the living room is where everything is out in the open – from the family photos to the big conversations. It’s a space where everyone sees the same thing in a safe space, and the shared visibility makes it trustworthy.

OOH plays the role of that 'living room of society'. It’s not one-on-one; it’s collective, transparent, and seen by all, making it inherently more reliable than private, one-to-one media. 

This is where Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising shines. Its physical, public, and authentic presence builds that trust, which naturally leads to deeper, longer-lasting engagement.

Studies also suggest that around 73% of consumers trust OOH ads more than digital, radio, or even print.

Why? Because OOH is:

Physically present: OOH exists in the real world. It’s unmissable and real. That tangibility makes it feel authentic, grounded, and credible—unlike digital ads that often feel manipulative or intrusive.

Unskippable and unavoidable: You can’t scroll past a billboard or fast-forward a bus stop ad. OOH commands passive attention without disrupting your experience, like the living room in our house.

Minimal misinformation: Digital advertising is plagued by issues like fake news, data privacy breaches, and brand misplacement next to harmful content. OOH, on the other hand, it is vetted, location-based, and contextual, making it a medium that consumers inherently trust more.

Local connect: OOH connects with people where they live—at the street level. When ads appear in your neighbourhood, they make you feel part of the community. This hyperlocal presence builds relatability and local brand affinity.

Familiarity: Familiarity leads to comfort. And comfort leads to trust. Think about it: if you see a brand’s message every day on your commute, you begin to feel like you know it.

OOH is the big screen – larger than life, impossible to ignore, and unforgettable. OOH is Bollywood’s cousin in the real world – it’s the big, bold storyteller on the streets. People trusted what they saw here, whether it was the hero’s values or the moral of the story.

So, when someone sees a brand on a massive billboard or a digital display in their neighbourhood, it activates that safe space effect. The brain registers: “This brand is present, it’s public, it’s consistent – it must be reliable.”

That is the neuroscience behind why OOH doesn’t just inform. It influences. Because it’s not hidden in fine print but showcased in grandeur, people assign it the same credibility as a blockbuster scene.

You don’t shout louder. You build trust. OOH thrives in this space.

Major global brands such as Apple, Samsung, Maruti and Netflix have consistently used OOH as a pillar of brand trust. Their logos on billboards aren’t just reminders; they’re trust triggers. You don’t need to read the message.

You see the symbol, and you feel something. That’s brand equity in action. OOH is a foundation that brands build upon to become timeless, memorable, and above all, trusted.

OOH doesn’t sneak into your social media wall, spy on your behaviour, or chase you across platforms. It shows up boldly, proudly, and publicly. It builds familiarity through presence, credibility through consistency, and loyalty through trust.

(Our guest author, Aman Nanda serves as the Chief Strategy Officer at Times OOH, a Times Group company.)