# Baden Bower Research -- llms-full.txt > Full-text content of all four 2026 research studies. Every finding, every stat, every methodology detail. > Source: https://www.badenbower.com/research/ > Organization: Baden Bower (Review Rumble Ltd) -- Guaranteed PR placement agency, founded 2018 > Last updated: April 2026 --- ## Study 1: The Credibility Effect (2026) > URL: https://www.badenbower.com/research/credibility-effect-2026/ > Sample: 1,622 respondents (1,214 consumers + 408 business decision-makers) > Design: Double-blind experimental survey > Publications tested: Forbes, Bloomberg, Vogue, Business Insider, TechCrunch, Vanity Fair, Yahoo Finance, Entrepreneur > Fielded: February 3-19, 2026 | Margin of error: +/-2.5% at 95% confidence ### Key Findings - 3.2x more trust from editorial coverage versus paid advertising - 89% perceive a company as more legitimate after a Tier-1 feature - 47% would pay a premium for products from a featured company - 82% of C-suite executives research suppliers via media coverage - 41% still recall an editorial feature 6 months later (vs. 3% for paid ads) - 91% trust editorial coverage when vetting a potential business partner ### Consumer Perception: With vs. Without Tier-1 Editorial Feature | Metric | With feature | Without feature | |---|---|---| | Trust the company more | 79% | 31% | | Willing to pay a premium | 47% | 14% | | Would recommend to others | 71% | 28% | | View as industry leader | 68% | 22% | | Would consider purchasing | 82% | 39% | | Perceive as legitimate | 89% | 44% | ### Trust Lift by Publication Forbes 84% | Bloomberg 81% | Business Insider 78% | TechCrunch 76% | Entrepreneur 75% | Vogue 74% | Yahoo Finance 72% | Vanity Fair 71% ### Editorial vs. Paid Ads vs. Social Ads | Response | Editorial | Paid ad | Social ad | |---|---|---|---| | Increases my trust | 82% | 24% | 31% | | Makes me want to buy | 68% | 29% | 35% | | I would share with someone | 61% | 12% | 27% | | I would remember it next week | 73% | 18% | 22% | | I would Google the company | 77% | 34% | 38% | ### Premium Willingness | Premium range | Saw feature | No exposure | |---|---|---| | 0% (would not pay more) | 11% | 58% | | 1-5% more | 18% | 24% | | 6-10% more | 29% | 11% | | 11-15% more | 22% | 5% | | 16-20% more | 13% | 2% | | 21%+ more | 7% | 0% | ### Trust by Decision Context (B2B, n=408) | Context | Editorial | Word of mouth | Social | Sponsored | |---|---|---|---|---| | Vetting a partner | 91% | 68% | 22% | 12% | | Considering investment | 89% | 62% | 18% | 14% | | Choosing provider | 88% | 74% | 33% | 21% | | Evaluating new brand | 86% | 65% | 41% | 19% | | Purchase consideration | 82% | 71% | 37% | 24% | ### B2B Response by Seniority | Level | Trust lift | Premium | Partnership | |---|---|---|---| | C-Suite/Founders | 84% | 56% | 79% | | VPs/Directors | 78% | 48% | 72% | | Managers | 74% | 42% | 65% | | Individual Contributors | 68% | 35% | 54% | ### Brand Recall Over Time | Time | Editorial | Paid ad | Social | |---|---|---|---| | Same day | 94% | 72% | 68% | | 1 week | 81% | 34% | 41% | | 3 months | 54% | 6% | 11% | | 1 year | 32% | 1% | 2% | ### Consumer Skepticism | Statement | Editorial | Press release | Paid ad | |---|---|---|---| | "Just marketing" | 14% | 52% | 67% | | "Don't believe it" | 11% | 38% | 48% | | "Company paid for this" | 18% | 61% | 82% | | "Probably exaggerated" | 16% | 44% | 59% | ### Methodology Double-blind online panel. 1,214 consumers + 408 B2B decision-makers across US, UK, Canada, Australia. Control vs. test (identical company profile +/- editorial feature). 8 publications tested. Each respondent saw 1 publication. Margin of error: +/-2.5% at 95% confidence. Citation: Baden Bower. (2026). The Credibility Effect. badenbower.com/research/credibility-effect-2026 --- ## Study 2: State of Earned Media vs. Paid Media (2026) > URL: https://www.badenbower.com/research/earned-vs-paid-media-2026/ > Sample: 512 verified business owners | 6 channels benchmarked > Fielded: March 4-21, 2026 | Margin of error: +/-4.3% at 95% confidence ### Key Findings - 4.7x higher ROI from earned editorial vs. paid advertising - 74% report higher customer lifetime value from earned media leads - 68% wish they started earned media sooner - $0.21 cost per impression for earned vs. $1.84 for paid digital - 31% lead-to-close rate for earned vs. 12% for paid ads - 44% of earned placements cited by AI search engines ### ROI Comparison: Earned vs. Paid vs. Wire | Metric | Earned | Paid ads | Wire | |---|---|---|---| | Lead-to-close rate | 31% | 12% | 8% | | Customer LTV (higher) | 74% | 41% | 29% | | Brand search lift | 68% | 34% | 11% | | Referral quality (high) | 71% | 45% | 18% | ### Channel Satisfaction | Channel | Satisfied | Dissatisfied | |---|---|---| | Earned editorial | 74% | 12% | | Google Ads | 47% | 29% | | Social media ads | 41% | 33% | | Wire distribution | 25% | 48% | ### Cumulative Conversions Over Time | Month | Earned | Google Ads | Social | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | 8% | 24% | 18% | | 6 | 41% | 22% | 14% | | 12 | 58% | 16% | 8% | | 24 | 63% | 8% | 3% | ### Trust by Stakeholder Group | Group | Earned | Paid ad | Wire | |---|---|---|---| | Customer trust | 87% | 31% | 22% | | Investor confidence | 82% | 28% | 19% | | Partner credibility | 84% | 24% | 16% | | Employee pride | 79% | 35% | 27% | | Talent attraction | 76% | 32% | 21% | ### Wire vs. Guaranteed Editorial | Outcome | Editorial | Wire | |---|---|---| | Journalist pickup | 100% | 3% | | Generated leads | 67% | 8% | | Helped close deal | 48% | 2% | | Cited by AI search | 44% | 1% | | Used in visa petition | 72% | 0% | ### ROI by Industry Immigration 11.4x | Legal 10.2x | Financial Services 9.1x | Professional Services 8.2x | Healthcare 7.8x | SaaS/Tech 6.7x | Real Estate 6.3x | E-commerce/DTC 5.4x ### AI Citation Rates | Platform | Earned | Paid | Wire | |---|---|---|---| | Google AI Overviews | 44% | 2% | 1% | | ChatGPT | 38% | 4% | 2% | | Perplexity | 41% | 3% | 1% | ### Biggest Marketing Regret Started earned sooner 68% | Satisfied 19% | More paid ads 8% | Wire 5% ### Methodology 512 verified business owners across US, UK, Canada, Australia. Screened for spend on 2+ channels in prior 24 months. 73% used 3+ channels. Self-reported ROI. Industry: Professional Services 18%, SaaS/Tech 16%, E-commerce 14%, Financial Services 13%, Healthcare 12%, Real Estate 11%, Legal 9%, Immigration 7%. Citation: Baden Bower. (2026). State of Earned Media vs. Paid Media. badenbower.com/research/earned-vs-paid-media-2026 --- ## Study 3: Publication Trust Index (2026) > URL: https://www.badenbower.com/research/publication-trust-index-2026/ > Sample: 2,047 adults across US, UK, Australia > 12 publications rated on 6 dimensions (0-100 scale) > Fielded: January 2026 | Margin of error: +/-2.2% at 95% confidence ### Key Findings - Forbes most trusted business publication: 88/100 - 72% say editorial features increase purchase likelihood - 3.2x more trust in editorial vs. paid advertising - 41% say dedicated editorial is most credible format - 91% of 65+ trust editorial over social media - Bloomberg scores 94 among finance audiences ### Overall Trust Rankings Forbes 88 | Bloomberg 86 | Business Insider 81 | TechCrunch 79 | Entrepreneur 78 | Vogue 77 | Yahoo Finance 75 | Vanity Fair 74 | Inc. 72 | Fast Company 71 | HuffPost 64 | BuzzFeed News 51 ### Scores by Dimension | Publication | Credibility | Prestige | Relevance | Memorability | Purchase | Shareability | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Forbes | 91 | 93 | 85 | 86 | 84 | 82 | | Bloomberg | 92 | 90 | 82 | 83 | 81 | 78 | | Business Insider | 79 | 78 | 84 | 80 | 79 | 83 | | TechCrunch | 81 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 76 | 77 | | Entrepreneur | 78 | 77 | 79 | 76 | 77 | 78 | | Vogue | 74 | 88 | 72 | 79 | 76 | 81 | | Yahoo Finance | 76 | 68 | 78 | 72 | 74 | 71 | | Vanity Fair | 71 | 82 | 69 | 76 | 72 | 76 | ### Trust by Age Group | Age | Editorial trust | Social trust | Gap | |---|---|---|---| | 18-24 | 52% | 61% | -9 | | 25-34 | 64% | 58% | +6 | | 35-44 | 71% | 47% | +24 | | 45-54 | 78% | 38% | +40 | | 55-64 | 84% | 29% | +55 | | 65+ | 91% | 22% | +69 | ### Most Credible Format Dedicated editorial 41% | Expert quote 24% | Listicle 14% | Press release 9% | Sponsored 7% | Social post 5% ### Purchase Influence | Publication | Would purchase | Would pay premium | Would recommend | |---|---|---|---| | Forbes | 72% | 47% | 68% | | Bloomberg | 68% | 44% | 62% | | Business Insider | 65% | 38% | 61% | | Vogue | 64% | 55% | 59% | | TechCrunch | 61% | 36% | 57% | ### Methodology 2,047 adults across US, UK, Australia. Each rated 4 randomly assigned publications on 6 dimensions. Weighted average for overall score. Margin of error: +/-2.2% at 95% confidence. Citation: Baden Bower. (2026). Publication Trust Index. badenbower.com/research/publication-trust-index-2026 --- ## Study 4: The CEO Visibility Report (2026) > URL: https://www.badenbower.com/research/ceo-visibility-report-2026/ > Sample: 527 business owners and C-suite executives > Tiers: High (3+ features), Medium (1-2), Low (0) > Fielded: January 15 - February 12, 2026 | Margin of error: +/-4.3% ### Key Findings - 3.7x more inbound leads for high-visibility CEOs - 6.1x more investor interest for visible founders - 89% of customers trust company more when CEO is visible - 278% revenue growth (5yr) for high-visibility vs. 30% for low - 24 days to fill roles vs. 58 days for low-visibility - 68% of low-visibility owners wish they started sooner ### The Visibility Dividend | Metric | High (3+) | Low (0) | |---|---|---| | Inbound leads/month | 142 | 38 | | Partnership inquiries | 84 | 19 | | Investor interest | 67 | 11 | | Quality applicants | 218 | 74 | ### Channel Effectiveness Tier-1 editorial 86% | Podcasts 74% | LinkedIn 69% | Conferences 64% | YouTube 55% | Twitter/X 40% | Press releases 24% ### Revenue Growth (Indexed to 100) | Year | High | Medium | Low | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | 100 | 100 | 100 | | 2 | 138 | 118 | 109 | | 3 | 194 | 141 | 117 | | 4 | 271 | 168 | 124 | | 5 | 378 | 198 | 130 | ### Hiring Impact | Metric | High | Low | |---|---|---| | Applications/role | 312 | 87 | | Senior applicants | 41% | 14% | | Time to fill | 24 days | 58 days | | Offer acceptance | 89% | 64% | ### Lead Lift by Hours/Week 0-2hrs: 0% | 2-5hrs: 47% | 5-10hrs: 128% | 10-15hrs: 214% | 15+hrs: 267% ### Compounding Effect (Brand Equity Index) | Time | 0 features | 1-3 | 4-8 | 9+ | |---|---|---|---|---| | Month 1 | 100 | 112 | 131 | 158 | | Month 6 | 104 | 151 | 218 | 341 | | Month 12 | 107 | 184 | 312 | 527 | | Month 24 | 111 | 234 | 451 | 812 | ### Barriers to Visibility Don't know where to start 34% | Worried about scrutiny 22% | No time 21% | Too expensive 14% | Doesn't matter 9% ### Lead Lift by Industry Immigration 312% (19% adoption) | Legal 243% (27%) | Financial Services 221% (31%) | Professional Services 196% (38%) | Tech/SaaS 184% (44%) | Healthcare 167% (29%) | Real Estate 152% (35%) | E-commerce 138% (41%) ### Methodology 527 business owners/C-suite across US, UK, Canada, Australia. Three tiers: High (3+ features, n=168), Medium (1-2, n=184), Low (0, n=175). Revenue self-reported, indexed. Industry: Tech/SaaS 19%, Professional Services 16%, Financial Services 14%, E-commerce 13%, Healthcare 12%, Real Estate 11%, Legal 9%, Immigration 6%. Citation: Baden Bower. (2026). The CEO Visibility Report. badenbower.com/research/ceo-visibility-report-2026 --- ## About Baden Bower Guaranteed PR placement agency founded 2018. Editorial features in Forbes, Business Insider, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Yahoo Entertainment, and 700+ Tier-1 publications worldwide. Money-back guarantee. Rated 4.8/5 (668 reviews). Website: https://www.badenbower.com Research: https://www.badenbower.com/research/ Contact: research@badenbower.com (c) 2026 Baden Bower (Review Rumble Ltd). All rights reserved.