Each year, Lead, the flagship industry event from the Advertising Association, IPA, and ISBA, gathers industry leaders, policymakers and politicians at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster. The high profile event focuses on discussing the role of the creative industries in shaping the future of the economy. Against a backdrop of continued global socio-economic and political unrest, this year’s event was centred around the pressing theme of trust.

This year’s Lead marked fifteen years of the event and marks one hundred years of the Advertising Association. Whilst much has changed over the course of those years, trust continues to be a fundamental, human aspect of modern life and an enduring theme of modern brand building. As the world becomes ever more complex and confusing, be it due to AI, political distrust or a plethora of other factors, there’s no doubt that when it comes to building and maintaining trust, the industry is facing a mammoth challenge.

Here are five fundamentals of trust from LEAD 2026

1. In a complex world, trust is hard to earn and easy to lose

In her opening remarks, Andria Vidler, President at the Advertising Association and CEO of Allwyn UK, pointed to the breadth and scale of the industry. She explained:  “In 2024, £66.6bn was invested in advertising, and the industry accounted for 5% of all UK employment.” With such a large-scale opportunity, Vidler was absolute in her urge that ‘we must drive responsible growth.’

Political keynotes from Rt Hon Ian Murray MP, Minister for Creative Industries and Lord Ed Vaizey, Business Advisor, Broadcaster, Speaker and Member of the House of Lords placed the industry in a wider context. With the talks underlining that while it is clear the industry is a ‘priority sector’ and essential to the economy’s growth, advertising’s destiny is in its own hands. Pointing to the recent regulations on Less Health Foods, Vaizey shared that political solutions to complex problems must be worked on. “You can't expect politicians to solve problems,” he shared. 

His words carry particular weight against a backdrop in which political scandal has become a daily occurrence. A conversation between Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Broadcaster and Journalist and Jack Elsom, Political Editor of The Sun, shone a light on the current state of UK politics. “Trust is at an all-time low,” Elsom shared. 

The disconnect between what is promised and what is delivered has left people feeling both angry and disappointed. Elsom shared that each Prime Minister is less popular than the last. While Guru-Murthy raised the question whether a media that takes sides diminishes trust and leaves politicians in fear of taking action. 

In polarising times, the role of brands and marketers in building trust may lie in helping customers navigate changing tides.  

2. There can be no fun without rules 

It may all feel like doom and gloom, but the conference also highlighted reasons to be hopeful. Research from Credos, presented by Dan Wilks, Director at the organisation, revealed that trust in the industry is increasing. With 40% of people saying that they trust advertising, it is at its highest level in five years. 

This increase spans across all channels, which have seen steady trust build since 2021, with TV remaining the most trusted. The ASA awareness campaign to drive trust has been pivotal in this growth as Wilks explained: “People who believe advertising is regulated are more likely to trust the industry.”

James Best CBE, Chair of CAP and Credos and Co-Author of Trusted Advertising, added: “As trust becomes more elusive, winning it becomes more valuable.” While trust-building campaigns are also effective at building brands, he advocates for a walk-the-walk approach. 

He shared that in order to be trusted, advertising must ‘be trustworthy’ as an industry. By respecting rules and regulations, educating partners and clients, the industry will be able to rebuild respect. 
 

3. Enjoyment is the number one driver of trust, and trust is a driver of business

Above being regulated and trustworthy, Best shared that the number one factor when it comes to building trust is entertainment. By making ads that people enjoy watching, there is a strong value exchange. Enjoyment and entertainment gives the audience the respect they deserve and reward the experience of engaging with ads. 

New research from the IPA is set to delve into the business case for trust, looking at 900 case studies, 100 from high-trust brands. Laurence Green, Director of Effectiveness at the IPA, shared that high-trust campaigns had strong commercial outcomes. People were two times as likely to report brand loyalty and two times as likely to report strong product quality perceptions.

Karen Martin, CEO at BBH and IPA President, brought the research to life through the example of BBH’s long-standing trust campaign with Tesco. Over the past ten years, Tesco’s communications have focused on building trust by putting the customer at the heart of everything and telling stories with emotion. The brand's ‘food love stories’ campaign restored product love by finding the emotion in food. At the same time the brand showed its support of customers in the cost of living crisis through Clubcard prices and everyday low prices that put people first. The ten-year campaign underlines that trust is built by creativity and connection but also shows trust takes time. 
 

4. Distrust in digital is damaging 

At a time when the portion of consumers’ lives lived out online is growing, Dan Wilks, Director at Credos, shared that: “Distrust in the online world has had a negative impact on the industry.” 

Online fraud, in particular, is on the rise and is one of the fastest-growing threats to trust in digital media. Nick Sharp, Deputy Director  of Fraud Threat Leadership at the National Economic Crime Centre, shared  the cold hard facts on  the impact fraud can have on people's financial, emotional and psychological health. When 4.16 million people experienced fraud last year and 17,000 people experienced crypto fraud, the problem is vast.

Lucien Taylor, Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Oxford Information Labs and Global Signal Exchange, Rima Amin, Security Policy Manager, Community Defence at Meta, Sinead Coogan Jobes, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the IAB and Mark Lund OBE, Co-chair of the  Government Online Advertising Taskforce and Chair of  Asbof, unpicked the scale of the issue in a panel discussion. The group was in agreement that the industry must do more and platforms need to be held to account. Many fraudulent schemes begin with malicious advertising campaigns; using technology to stop these campaigns in their tracks will prevent new victims.

Influencer marketing has come under fire for its lack of transparency, and yet, the influencer paradox raised by Wilks is that many people have an influencer who is their most trusted source of information. 

Scott Guthrie, Director General at Influencer Marketing Trade Body (IMTB), Alison Lomax, Managing Director, UK and Ireland at YouTube, Imogen Coles, EMEA Head of Influence at Ogilvy, Hayley Shortman, Senior Influencer Marketing Manager, TUI UK and Ireland sat down to discuss how the industry can better work with influencers. Pointing to the Vaseline Verified campaign as an example of influencer done well, respecting creators' creativity, working with the right talent, and upskilling influencers are just a few ways to help create a more healthy influencer-ecosystem. 
 

5. Technology should be part of the team

It would not be a marketing conference without AI on the agenda. When it comes to trust, the topic is especially polarising. 

A panel session with Alex Dalman, Managing Partner and Head of Social and Innovation at VCCPand Faith, Sean Betts, Chief AI AND Innovation Officer at Omnicom Media Group, Dr Daniel Hulme, Chief AI Officer at WPP, Suresh Balaji, Chief Marketing Officer, Lloyds Banking Group and Matt Bourn,, Communications Director at Advertising Association acknowledged that while AI is a great tool for creativity, it is also generating content contributing to mistrust.

There is no doubt that AI is changing how the industry operates. O2’s AI scam granny is a stellar example of how AI can be harnessed to build trust. The campaign uses an AI granny to raise awareness of online scammers and waste their time to prevent other victims from getting drawn in. Balaji shared that he believes AI used well actually gives us the opportunity to be more human, unlocking new creative heights.

Yet while we might all agree that in the creative process, AI is a useful tool, out in the world, AI slop and deepfakes are very real concerns for audiences. 

Betts raised the important point of intent. Where AI does not have intent, humans do. He warns not to be scared of AI and instead adapt to changing habits. He predicts that very soon, language models like ChatGPT will be the entry point into the internet. A truth which means that industry leaders must find ways to adapt and find new responsible marketing opportunities. 

Similarly, the prevention of AI slop and irresponsible usage lies in skills and training. The advertising industry is home to creative, digitally native talent who are able to harness AI for good. The onus is on the industry to pass on responsible use cases and remember to be as human as possible, even where technology is involved. The industry is constantly changing, but as Lead underlined it is the people within it who have the power to make a meaningful difference. 

Image credit: Bronac McNeill