by Damon Russell, Chief Executive

The World Wide Web has been around for over 15 years. Are we now seeing the death of traditional media?

Online prophets have been saying this for years. But the reality is different. And quite simple.

People trust traditional media

People trust press and TV brands far more than they trust media brands that are purely online.

And it isn't just the big TV channels and newspapers that are highly trusted. According to our research, local newspapers and radio have almost the same level of trust.

Websites and blogs are viewed with a lot more suspicion. That's not a surprise. It's a lot easier to set up a website than a national newspaper!

Offline works online

With two thirds of British adults regularly going online, TV and press brands have been eager to make a play for the online space.

There are huge revenue opportunities online. And it's not just from advertising. A share of e-commerce is increasingly important. Media owners are making the most of this. They sell everything from dating services and psychic readings to books and holidays.

Trust delivers sales

For e-commerce to be successful, people must trust the brand they are buying from.

That's why traditional media have such an advantage in the online space. It is easy to damage trust online. Bad spelling, poor design, out of date pages, hard-to-find contact details: all these can destroy trust and damage online sales.

But traditional media owners have an advantage. They already have very high levels of trust. Most people wouldn't hesitate to buy from their favourite newspaper or TV show.

People feel that what they read and watch is part of what defines them. They trust their own judgement. And so of course they trust their favourite media owners.

And that's why newspapers and TV channels are places where most people say they would welcome the chance to buy new products and services.

Traditional media owners have trust, consumer insight and expertise online. We believe that they are uniquely well placed to generate increasing proportions of their revenue from e-commerce over the coming years.

(Taken from Trust into Transaction, published by Telecom Express 2006)