Millennials still easily influenced by traditional ads: study

By Jessica Toonkel (Reuters) - Millennials may rely on their mobile devices and laptops for the bulk of their entertainment and content, but that doesn't mean that they aren't easily influenced by advertisements in more traditional formats, according to a new study by Nielsen Holdings. In fact, consumers between the ages of 21 to 34 have the highest level of trust of any age cohort in 18 of the 19 advertising formats tracked in the study, including newspapers, TV and magazines, according to Nielsen's Global Trust in Advertising Survey, which is scheduled to be released Tuesday. Additionally, millennials are likely to take action as a result of advertisements in 16 of the 19 advertising formats, according to the study. "Millennials consume media differently than their older counterparts, exercising greater control over when and where they watch, listen and read content - and on which device," wrote Randall Beard, president, Nielsen expanded verticals, in the study, which was reviewed by Reuters. "But even if they rely less heavily on traditional channels, their trust and willingness to act on these formats remains high." Not surprisingly, millennials have the highest levels of trust in online and online formats, followed by Generation X, those consumers between the ages of 35 to 49, according to the study. Overall, consumers' trust levels in digital advertising was flat from two years ago, when Nielsen last conducted the study, which is published every two years. The Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Survey polled 30,000 online respondents in 60 countries to gauge consumer sentiment about 19 advertising mediums. (Reporting By Jessica Toonkel; Editing by Christian Plumb)