Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

What we know about using music in advertising

Article • WARC Best Practice, August 2019

Provides marketers with information and guidance about the most effective approaches to using music in advertising.

How to choose the right music for your brand

Article • David Meerman Scott, WARC Best Practice, August 2017

This paper explores best practices for using music to build a brand – one of the least understood elements of brand building.

The power of audio in the attention economy

Opinion • Cari Kesten, June 2020

The hunt for attention It seems our days are getting longer and our attention spans are getting shorter.

How to do video on LinkedIn

Article • Brian Carruthers, Event Reports, IAB research webinar, April 2020

LinkedIn undertook research into the top-performing videos on the platform across EMEA to understand what works best.

How livestreaming enabled Ambev to connect with Brazilian consumers during COVID-19

Article • Stephen Whiteside, WARC COVID-19 Series, May 2020

Ambev, the brewer, has tapped the power of livestreaming to connect with Brazilian consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finding the right notes: Lessons from the top five best audio brands

Article • Michele Arnese, WARC Exclusive, April 2020

Insights from amp’s 2020 Best Audio Brands Ranking, and the top-ranking brands, Mastercard, Shell, Apple, Google and Amazon.

Instagram X Columbia Records: Mark Ronson – Pieces of Us

Case Study • Jane Kinnaird, Philippe Naughton, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Innovation, 2020

Social media platform Instagram, and music label Columbia Records, collaborated in the UK on the first truly native Instagram music video.

Capitol Records UK: Liam Payne becomes a Pinball Wizard

Case Study • Vanessa Bakewell, Nigel Kendall, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Innovation, 2020

Capitol Records UK the music label used an augmented reality pinball game as an innovative way to launch Liam Payne's new single Stack it Up in the UK.

Fruit Shoot: Fruit Shoot for the Moon

Case Study • Polly Goodman, Craig Adams, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Innovation, 2020

Children's drink brand Fruit Shoot implemented an integrated and innovative communications strategy in the UK to increase sales and move the brand from terminal decline into growth.

Sunsilk: Be #ExtraReady Tap Tap Game

Case Study • Tricia Cruz, Kitty Faustino, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Innovation, 2020

Sunsilk, a shampoo brand in the Philippines, used a campaign that integrated music and gaming to stand out in a cluttered market.

Clear: Wait for my rock!

Case Study • Ma Miaojun, Xiong Ying, Wu Shufeng, Yu Junqiu, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Innovation, 2020

Clear shampoo's traditional education-based marketing strategy was not reaching Chinese Gen Z consumers so it partnered with a popular programme on the iQiyi video platform to run a campaign focused on individualism.

The Alzheimer Foundation of Thailand: MEMO_o_ke

Case Study • Kongpope Siriwattanagarn, Tanachai Sutthisareesakul, Nattanyaporn Jiragoontansiri, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Innovation, 2020

Health organisation The Alzheimer Foundation of Thailand created a tool to help slow the rise of Alzheimer's disease in Thailand.

Almosafer: As far as we go

Case Study • Tahaab Rais, WARC Awards, Gold, Effective Use of Brand Purpose, 2020

Travel platform Almosafer reversed declining market share through an emotive Ramadan film in Saudi Arabia.

Tanqueray: #FFAB60 – Searching for the special colour of Seville

Case Study • Sergio Garcia, Jacobo Pérez, WARC Awards, Gold and Partnership Award, Effective Innovation, 2020

Gin brand Tanqueray implemented a colourful multi-channel campaign in Spain to drive growth and stand out from the crowd.

Master Kong Express Noodle: The Makeover of the Four Immortals

Case Study • Jenny Hanghal, Cathy Sun, WARC Awards, Bronze, Effective Innovation, 2020

Instant noodle brand Master Kong Express updated its brand image, protected market share and grew sales in China during Chinese New Year.

Non-Korean consumers’ preferences on Korean popular music: A two country study

Article • Jungyop Ryu, Erik Paolo Capistrano, and Hao-Chieh Lin, International Journal of Market Research, Vol. 62, No. 2, 2020, pp. 234-252

This research employs a mix of theoretical and data-driven approaches to understand how Korean pop music (KPop) consumption, despite physical and social barriers, is currently at unprecedented levels.

Toyota: Pudgy, a dog with infinite energy

Case Study • Case Studies on WARC, 2019

Car manufacturer Toyota increased sales of its hybrid vehicles in Costa Rica through a humorous commercial that showcased the benefits of hybrid technology.

How brands can strike a chord with India's young music lovers

Article • Grashima Sahni, WARC Best Practice, March 2020

Carat’s Grashima Sahni outlines trends emerging with India’s music-loving youth and how brands can play a role in this evolving landscape.

What we know about podcasts in marketing

Article • WARC Best Practice, March 2020

Explores how the increasing popularity of podcasts is presenting new opportunities for advertisers, including a chance to access hard-to-reach audio audiences that are highly engaged, and explains how brands must clearly indicate their presence to avoid overstepping editorial boundaries.

Bacardi moves beyond voice to sound-based ads

News • 28 February 2020

Bacardi, the drinks giant probably best known for its eponymous white rum brand, has been experimenting with voice marketing for several years and the experience of using platforms like Amazon Alexa and Google Home has prompted the company to ...

Sprite: I Love You, Hater

Case Study • Case Studies on WARC, 2019

Soft drinks brand Sprite launched a multi-channel campaign to help teens respond to online haters in Latin America.

Leverage your brand assets more effectively

News • 25 February 2020

Brands assets come in various forms but it is those visual assets owned by the brand itself that are most likely to be strongly linked to ‘effective branded attention’ in creative, new research suggests.

Munich Animal Shelter: Adoptify

Case Study • Case Studies on WARC, 2018

The Munich Animal Shelter raised awareness of dogs up for adoption through a collaboration with Spotify that matched potential owners and shelter dogs based on their music tastes.

Power of you - distinctive brand assets

Article • WARC Exclusive, February 2020

This Ipsos meta-analysis of over 2,000 pieces of video creative examines the relationship between effectiveness and the presence or not of brand assets.

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: Runaway Train 25

Case Study • SABRE Awards, IN2, North America, Best in Audio: Podcasts + Music, 2020

Non-profit organisation the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children launched an integrated national, local, print, broadcast, radio, online and social media PR campaign to launch Runaway Train 25, a music video that featured photos of missing children based on the viewer's location in the US.

Music & sound