Thanks for your professional point of view, Randy!
I was actually celebrating these 1,5% but it seems that you´ve seen higher CTRs in your career - lucky you!!! :)) I´ve been working for Condé Nast´s online sales team (GQ.com, VOGUE.com, etc.), and a CTR of 0,5-1,0% made us quite happy.
Maybe it´s the mix that will succeed in the end: trustworthiness through social (earned) media like you mentioned, and a bit of rumor / noise through ad campaigns.