Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

What we know about the theories of brand growth

Article • WARC Best Practice, September 2020

This article outlines various theories of brand growth, including the currently popular theory developed by the late Professor Andrew Ehrenberg; his and other theories are presented.

What we know about creativity and effectiveness

Article • WARC Best Practice, June 2020

Explores current thought and reading on the connection between creativity and effectiveness, a relationship for which there is compelling evidence, especially in terms of creating brand fame: a driver of long-term performance.

What we know about differentiation and salience

Article • WARC Best Practice, April 2020

Explores the value of both salience and differentiation, the importance of the latter is often disagreed on by marketers.

What we know about long-term and short-term effectiveness

Article • WARC Best Practice, October 2019

This article provides marketers with information about how to balance long-term and short-term strategies.

McDonald's: Put the 'BIG' back in 'BIG MAC'

Case Study • Sarthak Ranka, Kunal Roy, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

McDonald's Malaysia targeted Gen Z with a social media campaign to reverse the Big Mac's long-term decline by increasing brand love and sales.

Singtel: Only True Fans Get It

Case Study • Amanda Lim, Jacob Wright, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Telco Singtel took to trolling to boost take-up of its services in Singapore.

Lexus: Find Your Unbeaten Path

Case Study • Terence Ling, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Luxury vehicle brand Lexus ran a data-driven campaign for its UX crossover SUV that used personalised test drives to engage adventurous urbanites in Hong Kong.

Fortis Hospitals: Honor the Donor

Case Study • Lavanya MN, Shaziya Khan, Saumya Tyagi, Ankit Singh, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Fortis, the chain of hospitals, launched the first ever organ donor symbol to tackle the cultural taboo against organ donation in India.

P/S: The Adventure With King Leo and Friends

Case Study • Sang Lam, Anish Appukuttan, Soumya Ranjan Panda, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Toothpaste brand P/S harnessed the power of AI to encourage kids to brush their teeth, increasing consumption and boosting growth in Vietnam.

Scoot: Go Yellow! Escape the Ordinary

Case Study • Fiona Huang, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Scoot, the low-cost airline, championed its signature yellow brand colour and its fun, sassy spirit to build brand visibility and preference in Singapore.

Coca-Cola: Coke2Home

Case Study • Harshvardhan Sahni, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Soft drink giant Coca-Cola used a home delivery service in a behaviour-changing sponsorship campaign for the ICC World Cup in India.

Nikkei: "Are You Starting to See It?"

Case Study • Yutaka Tsuda, Kei Okubo, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Financial newspaper The Nikkei took a multi-pronged approach to attract a new young audience in Japan's highly competitive media landscape.

Zomato: How Zomato won the game before the game

Case Study • Tushar Handa, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Food delivery app Zomato ran a gamified, multi-channel campaign targeting young male cricket fans in India to drive sales, user acquisition, engagement and regional penetration.

Times of India: Out & Proud – India Comes Out of The Closet

Case Study • Saad Khan, Trinolda Colaco, Jason Samuel, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

The Times of India newspaper sparked a nationwide movement to normalise LGBTQ rights with a special Out and Proud classifieds section in India.

Pantene: Break-Up Salon

Case Study • Owen Smith, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Hair care brand Pantene leveraged China's Singles' Day shopping event to get consumers' attention with their Breakup Salon brand experience.

Fevikwik: Fix it or forfeit it

Case Study • Divya Agarwal, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Adhesive brand Fevikwik used TV, digital and social media to drive behaviour change and increase brand scores on salience, likeability, and brand appeal in India.

McDonald's: The Surprise Chicken Expert

Case Study • Garron Chiu, Peter Rodenbeck, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Quick service restaurant brand McDonald's coupled the element of surprise with a smart multimedia strategy to drive mass awareness and trial in Hong Kong.

UCash & Shwapno: Project AgroBanking

Case Study • Bitop Das Gupta, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Banking brand United Commercial Bank used video, on-ground activity and OOH to launch a platform that enabled farmers in Bangladesh to sell excess produce at a fair rate to retail chain Shwapno.

Harpic: Overcoming India's Toilet Divide

Case Study • Jitender Dabas, Kush Anand, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Toilet-cleaner brand Harpic used a multi-channel campaign to encourage behaviour change and unlock demand for the brand in rural India.

Four strategies for growth in MENA

News • 16/09/2020

An analysis of the results of this year’s WARC Prize for MENA Strategy reveals key takeaways for the region’s marketers looking for growth opportunities, from finding niche audiences in smaller markets to developing more resonant touchpoints.

Tang: Tang Gets It Done

Case Study • Maan Bernardino-Dominguez, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Powdered drink brand Tang employed a TV, radio and digital strategy to target relaxed parents in order to rebuild perceived value and protect its user base in the Philippines.

Quantifying the advertising-creativity assessments of consumers versus advertising professionals: Does it matter whom you ask?

Research Paper • Erik Modig and Micael Dahlen, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 60, No. 3, 2020, pp. 324-336

Research has shown the importance of advertising professionals' creativity assessments in achieving desired consumer responses.

What we know about using emotion

Article • WARC Best Practice, September 2020

Setting out key insights on using emotion, arguing that it helps to build a brand and business, while also giving a sense of the debate on its impact and its relationship to rational persuasion.

Is your growth suffering from consumption amnesia?

Opinion • Benoit Wiesser, September 2020

What if your customers simply forgot they were previously loyal to your brand? What if they stopped purchasing your entire category? What if they had done so already? And what if, this was the competitive opportunity of a generation? There’s a commonly quoted figure, backed by solid research, that it takes 66 days to form a new habit or change behaviour.

Maximising your digital availability to grow your brand online

Article • Gemma Spence, WARC Webinars, September 2020

Explores how brands can grow online in the competitive e-commerce landscape.

Effectiveness