2025: The year when TV advertising reinvents itself thanks to customer reviews

1. A changing context: the end of blind trust

Since the pandemic, distrust of institutions, advertising and even influencers has grown steadily. The advertising market is going through an unprecedented crisis of confidence. In 2024, the Edelman Trust Barometer revealed that only 41% of French people trust brands. Conversely, customer reviews are now considered the most reliable source of information in 89% of cases (source: BrightLocal 2023).

In this climate of mistrust, ‘traditional’ advertising - monologue, scripted, one-way - is no longer enough. Consumers want proof, not promises.

At the same time, the scheduled disappearance of third-party cookies (already effective on Safari and Firefox, and in progress on Chrome) is accentuating the need for reliable alternatives for building customer relationships.

Examples: In 2023, Decathlon included customer reviews in its YouTube Ads videos, which led to an 18% increase in the completion rate according to their Nielsen report. Amazon, meanwhile, systematically uses extracts from verified reviews in its product emails and in certain Amazon Prime campaigns. The result: a click-through rate up to x2.3 higher than a version without reviews.

2. Social proof: the number one driver of attention and conversion

Social proof is a well-documented cognitive bias: individuals rely on the behaviour or opinion of the majority to make a decision, especially in situations of uncertainty. It has become a strategic pillar in marketing. It operates on three levels:

• Attract attention: a message from a peer is perceived as more credible and catches the eye more quickly.

• Create trust: the perception of veracity is reinforced when the message is lived, sincere and not embodied by the brand.

• Convert: when faced with two similar products, the one with the best reviews is bought 3 times more often (source: Spiegel Research Center, 2023).

🔍 Key figures:

• 72% of consumers will not make a purchase without reading a customer review.

• The Spiegel Research Center (Northwestern University) has shown that a product with at least 5 positive reviews is 4 times more likely to be purchased than a product without any reviews.

• A Bazaarvoice study (2023) highlights that integrating customer testimonials into marketing assets increases conversions by an average of 45%, and that products with 11 to 20 reviews have the highest conversion rate.

• According to Think with Google, ads incorporating UGC (User Generated Content) content attract 2 times more attention than traditional formats.

• Including a review in marketing content increases the recall rate by 38% (BuyTryShare internal study, 2024).

Case in point: L'Oréal Paris ran a TV campaign incorporating verified customer reviews on a new foundation. The result: +38% purchase intention measured via Kantar, and a 3-fold increase in engagement on social networks.

3. TV remains powerful. But it needs proof

TV remains a behemoth. In France, despite the rise of digital, 43.1 million people watch television every day (Médiamétrie, 2024). Its emotional power and ability to capture attention ‘full screen’ are unrivalled. Linear television and BVoD continue to have an unrivalled impact. However, the recurring criticism from advertisers remains the same: TV has an impact (particularly at the top of the funnel), but it is still difficult to measure what it actually generates in terms of sales. Marketing decision-makers are demanding formats that are more activatable and better traceable.

With the arrival of BVoD (Broadcast Video On Demand) and the rise of smart TVs, viewing habits are changing. Viewers want to interact, choose and act. So we need to transform a mass medium into a channel that can be activated and tracked.

The Wall Street Journal study of March 2024 highlights that 72% of marketing directors questioned want to ‘make their TV campaigns more measurable, more personalised and more credible’, in particular by integrating digital indicators (clicks, scans, interactions, etc.).

📺 Case study: In 2023, Kellogg's UK integrated a spot with a QR code linking to video customer reviews on the new granola. Result: +24% scans, +18% partner shop sales (source: Campaign UK, Nov 2023).

Case in point: Procter & Gamble tested a ‘QR TV’ format in the United States (NBC), encouraging viewers to scan to read user testimonials. The result: +30% engagement compared with a conventional ad.

4. BuyTryShare: the solution that links the emotion of TV with the credibility of testimonials

Combining the power of television with the trust of word-of-mouth, BuyTryShare is a technological solution designed to take advantage of this transformation and make TV advertising measurable, credible and activatable. It works by integrating authentic consumer reviews, collected via qualified panels or partner review platforms, into a short, impactful and interactive format:

• 5-second format with a testimonial + trackable QR code.

• Compatible with all advertising sales houses and broadcasting platforms (linear TV, replay, BVoD, etc.).

• Generation of concrete KPIs: scans, click-through rates, drive-to-web visits, recall rates, awareness uplift.

• Guaranteed authenticity and compliance (ARPP in France, RGPD alignment, transparency of reviews).

🎯 In a nutshell: BuyTryShare transforms a €100,000 advertising spot into a measurable, credible and shareable device, where a traditional spot stops at mere exposure.

Case in point: A yoghurt brand launches a BuyTryShare campaign in BVOD. The advert shows a customer saying ‘I only take this one now: it's more natural and easier to digest’. The QR code links to a comparative mini-site. Result: +22% increase in site traffic over the duration of the campaign, measured via UTM/GA4.

5. What if 2025 became the year when TV advertising became ‘human’?

We are entering a new era: that of TV augmented by social proof. The brands that succeed in 2025 will be those that succeed in embodying their message through real consumers.

Traditional media need a new advertising grammar. BuyTryShare provides that solution:

• Less marketing claims,

• more experience and authenticity,

• And an unprecedented synergy between power (television) and trust (customer reviews).

BuyTryShare is not just another format: it's a new advertising language that combines the emotional power of TV with the credibility of digital word-of-mouth. In a tense economic climate where every euro invested has to prove its effectiveness, the addition of a customer review becomes a performance multiplier: attention, engagement, conversion

Conclusion: By integrating recommendation into the advertising format, BuyTryShare helps brands to capture attention, generate sales and strengthen loyalty... at a time when every euro invested must prove its effectiveness. Brands that adopt this strategic lever today will have a competitive advantage in 2025. And BuyTryShare is ready to support them, both in France and internationally.

📩 Are you an advertiser, advertising sales house or agency?

💡 Contact us to activate your brand's first BuyTryShare spot.

TV isn't dead. It's just gained in credibility. The revolution in TV advertising starts now. Contact us.