The Trust Challenge: Why Trust and Relevance Go Hand in Hand

Encouraging, yes but these gains are fragile. Which is why building trust and staying relevant is now every marketer’s most important job.

Start with the truth and make it matter

When I joined Boots, the “Let’s Feel Good” platform had been in market for over a decade. In the aftermath of a global pandemic, it no longer reflected the urgency or depth of people’s needs. The brand still carried trust, but it lacked the relevance to speak to customers’ health, beauty, and wellbeing priorities in a changed world.

We returned to the truth of what people needed support for all of life’s moments, the good and the difficult and built “With You. For Life.” That strategy delivered 17 consecutive quarters of growth, record brand health scores, and the highest-ever number of Boots Advantage Card holders.

Earlier at Aviva, I saw how complexity can erode relevance. Simplifying our offer and speaking in human terms rebuilt the connection and trust followed.

At TSB, the challenge was to restore momentum after a difficult period. We anchored our work around a clear, customer-first message making banking feel simple, supportive, and human. That clarity made us more relevant to our customers, and that relevance laid the foundations for renewed trust.

ISBA’s Value of Trust report, supported by the IPA’s Peter Field, underlines why this matters: trust has leapt from the seventh to the second most powerful driver of brand effectiveness and financial performance. Crucially, that trust is driven by enjoyment and relevance.

Prove it commercially and consistently

In every leadership role whether at Boots, TSB, Aviva, or RSA I’ve focused on turning words into proof. At Boots, I worked closely with the CFO to start small, measure results, and scale what worked. At TSB, we matched every brand promise with a tangible change customers could see and feel.

The AA’s research warns that “ad bombardment” is one of the fastest destroyers of trust, especially among younger audiences. While trust has increased for all age groups, the biggest gains are among 18–34-year-olds, up 16 percentage points since 2022, compared to just three points among over-55s. Digital, social, and influencer activity are gaining trust quickly with younger audiences, while TV and cinema still lead for overall trust. Media choice matters: the right channel, at the right moment, with the right relevance.

Support the system that supports trust

One of the most effective ways to maintain and grow public trust in advertising is to back the ASA awareness campaign. The latest iteration, launched in July, is delivering consistently positive results. The insight is simple: the more people know advertising is regulated, the more they trust it. Many members of the AA’s Front Foot network, which I have the privilege of chairing, are leaders in supporting this work.

And in February, the AA, alongside CAP Chair James Best, will publish Trusted Advertising a practical guide to creating campaigns that are trusted, relevant, and effective. 

At RSA, I saw how robust measurement makes creative decisions sharper. At Boots, we used tools like System1 and MESH Experience so every campaign was evidence-led. Data didn’t replace creativity, it strengthened it. The result: work that was both more relevant and more trusted.

Trust and relevance are like fitness - you can’t achieve them once and assume you’re done. You have to keep showing up, putting in the work, and adapting your routine to stay in peak condition. Stop training, and it slips away. Keep working, and you stay the brand people believe in.

Authored by former CMO of Boots and ISBA President, Pete Markey.