Harris Interactive has been researching corporate communications for years, and now for the first time they’ve asked people which is more important to their opinion of corporations, advertising or experience? Here is the ranking of influencers, which will come as no surprise to Shell…. I guess we should feel relieved that 70% of people say advertising influences their opinion (at all).

• 92% personal experience with a company
• 85% word of mouth communications
• 84% opinions of company employees
• 75% media stories
• 70% advertising and PR

WSJ: Word-of-Mouth Is Cheap, But Valuable, Survey Finds by Ron Alsop (subscription required)

Among the top-five companies in this year’s ranking, word-of-mouth buzz proved to be a significant driving force, accounting for a quarter to more than a third of the intent-to-purchase decision. The greatest word-of-mouth impact was with United Parcel Service Inc., at 37%, compared with only a 9% effect for corporate communications. …

Word-of-mouth had similar impact on companies with the lowest reputations in the ranking. It accounted for about a third of the future purchase decision in the case of Royal Dutch Shell, while corporate communications showed minimal effect, at 7%.