Premium media lifts brand trust, The Trade Desk finds

The Trade Desk has released new Australian research, conducted with PA Consulting, on how premium media environments affect advertising results.

The study found brands advertising in premium environments achieved stronger outcomes than those using lower-quality placements. Premium environments were 4.3 times more effective at driving purchase consideration, delivered a 37 per cent uplift in purchase intent, increased brand trust by 22 per cent and were 1.5 times more effective at improving positive brand association.

The findings come as advertisers face growing pressure to show media spending drives business results, not just scale. The research suggests a focus on low-cost impressions may improve delivery metrics but is less effective at influencing trust, consideration and buying decisions.

Trust emerged as a key dividing line. Australians were 1.6 times less likely to trust social media platforms than premium digital publishers, while 73 per cent said they place greater trust in content created by human journalists.

Premium signals

The research also examined what makes a media environment feel premium to audiences. It found 73 per cent of respondents were influenced by the quality of the environment and 64 per cent by the media brand. Another 54 per cent said ad-related factors were the biggest drivers of whether an environment felt premium.

That emphasis on advertising conditions appeared throughout the study. Some 83 per cent of those surveyed said ads should not slow down content, 83 per cent wanted ads to be clearly labelled, 80 per cent expected ads to fit naturally and 75 per cent preferred ads aligned with the surrounding content.

Trust divide

The report describes a widening trust divide in digital advertising as audiences become more selective about where they pay attention. Premium media environments outperformed cluttered, low-quality or interruptive experiences across trust, perception and purchase behaviour.

Respondents also linked premium environments with stronger brand perceptions. Brands advertised in those settings were seen as 3.5 times more innovative, 2.4 times more successful, 14 times more popular and 12.4 times more relevant.

Streaming TV ranked among the strongest-performing premium channels in the study. Platforms including Netflix and Foxtel rated highly for ad integration and user experience, while many social feeds were described as cluttered and lacking guardrails.

Research scope

The work combined qualitative, quantitative and experimental methods to assess the impact of premium media in Australia. It included expert interviews across brand, media and marketing; desk research using behavioural science; analysis comparing premium and non-premium environments across digital, connected TV and audio; a survey of 1,500 Australian consumers; and experimental testing on brand perception, trust and consumer behaviour.

James Bayes, Vice President, Business Development at The Trade Desk, said the results reflected a shift in how marketers should think about media value.

"Where a brand shows up is increasingly as important as what it says," said James Bayes, Vice President, Business Development, The Trade Desk.

"Reach will always matter, but not all reach delivers equal value. Focusing on low-cost reach alone shifts the focus to media efficiency, rather than outcomes that drive both performance and long-term brand value. The opportunity is to rebalance investment toward higher-quality environments that build trust, strengthen consideration and deliver stronger commercial outcomes," said Bayes.

The findings add to a broader debate in the advertising market over the trade-off between cheap reach and the quality of the context in which ads appear. As automated buying and AI-generated content expand across the internet, the study suggests context remains a significant factor in how consumers judge both the media they use and the brands they encounter there.

For publishers and streaming platforms, the data supports the argument that audience attention and trust can justify higher advertising prices. For marketers, it highlights the challenge of balancing short-term buying metrics with the longer-term effects of context on brand reputation and purchase intent.

The survey results indicate audiences do not separate advertising from the surrounding experience. Instead, they appear to judge the ad, the platform and the brand together, making placement a more direct contributor to brand outcomes than impression volume alone.