What is the trust economy?

The trust economy is a shift in brand marketing where success is driven by consumer trust, built through transparency, authenticity, and long-term value.

Why are consumers moving away from hyper-targeted ads?

Many consumers feel uncomfortable with overly personalised ads that rely heavily on data tracking. They're seeking brands that offer human connection and clear intent over automation.

How can brands build trust in 2025?

Brands build trust by delivering great products, communicating authentically, using AI transparently, and listening actively to their communities.

What makes a brand trustworthy?

Trustworthy brands are competent, honest, and care about more than just profit. They prioritise relationships, community, and cultural alignment with their customers.

Trust economy: the new currency of success.

The attention economy is out. The trust economy is in.

It used to be all about the scroll-stopping headline, the clickbait thumbnail, the precisely timed retargeting ad. But that game is changing. Fast.

At h2o, we’re seeing a powerful shift in how brands succeed in the digital space. The attention economy, where grabbing eyeballs was the currency of success, is being replaced. In its place? The trust economy.

Let’s unpack what this means for your brand, your marketing, and most importantly, your customers.

What’s changed?

For the last decade, success online was measured in impressions, likes, and clicks. Marketing automation tools and data-led ad tech promised hyper-targeting at scale. And while these tools are still powerful and have their place, they’re no longer enough.

Here’s why:

Consumers are burned out.

The average person sees thousands of ads a day. We’ve developed selective attention as a defence mechanism. If it feels impersonal or pushy, it gets ignored.

We don’t trust what we’re shown.

With the rise of AI-generated content and uncanny targeting, people are more suspicious of marketing than ever. If a piece of content feels like a trick, even subconsciously, it damages the brand.

We value meaning, not manipulation.

There’s a growing sense that cleverness alone isn’t enough. People are hungry for realness. They want brands that treat them as humans, not data points.

Understanding the trust economy

Trust is no longer a vague emotional benefit. It’s a measurable, strategic asset. When people trust a brand, they:

Spend more
Stay longer
Recommend it to others
Forgive mistakes more easily

From a psychological perspective, trust forms when people believe three things:

You’re competent (you do what you say)
You’re honest (you tell the truth, even when it’s hard)
You care (you’re in it for more than profit)

This aligns with what behavioural economists call reciprocity bias. When customers feel a brand is acting in their interest, they’re more likely to return the favour.

This shift in consumer psychology is particularly important with tech domination and the AI takeover. People have become increasingly aware of how data is used and how automation influences their experiences. And with that awareness comes pushback.

The backlash against creepy personalisation

Hyper-targeted ads once promised relevance. Now they risk violating boundaries. When customers see ads that know a little too much, they feel watched, not welcomed.

And with LLMs (large language models) producing perfectly polished but soulless content, audiences are becoming adept at spotting what lacks a human touch. In fact, part of the emerging consumer sophistication is an ability to distinguish machine output from genuine experience.

This is creating a new value proposition: authenticity over automation. It's not that AI doesn't have a role, of course it does. But the brands that thrive are the ones using AI transparently, responsibly, and in service of deeper human connection.

What winning brands are doing differently

The brands that win in today’s environment are not the ones shouting the loudest or automating the fastest. They’re the ones that:

Build exceptional products that deliver consistently on promise.
Craft marketing that connects through original ideas, emotional storytelling and a human tone of voice.
Engage genuinely with their communities by listening, adapting and responding.

They value loyalty over vanity metrics, and they invest in long-term relationships, not just short-term gains. These are the brands that customers come back to, advocate for, and trust in the face of rising noise and choice.

Smart brands are leaning into:

Transparent use of AI: Making it clear when and why AI is used, and always coupling it with human oversight.
Community engagement: Listening to what their audience is saying in forums, socials and comment sections.
Mission-driven messaging: Telling stories that go beyond product benefits, showing values in action.
Innovative creativity: Producing marketing that surprises and delights, not just because it’s clever, but because it connects.

BrewDog toxic workplace culture — Image Source: Matt Buckland, Twitter:@ElSatanico

Case in point: BrewDog vs Innocent Smoothies

BrewDog built a brand on anti-corporate values, rebellious energy, and bold messaging. But recent missteps, from misleading promotions to a toxic workplace culture, have exposed a gap between their external image and internal reality. The fallout? Eroded consumer trust and a damaged brand reputation.

In contrast, Innocent Drinks has built its success on playful, transparent, and consistently human messaging. Whether it's their tone of voice, community initiatives or honest packaging, Innocent shows that trust is earned not by being loud, but by being real. Authenticity must go beyond marketing, it has to run through the culture.

How we can help you build trust

At h2o, we help brands do more than get noticed. We help them become known and believed.

That means crafting messaging that sounds like it comes from real people, not algorithms. It means designing brand experiences that feel cohesive and intentional. And it means guiding clients away from gimmicks and toward long-term brand building.

We believe great marketing earns attention, not demands it. And in a world that’s tuning out the noise, that belief matters more than ever.