Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

What we know about consumer decision making

Article • WARC Best Practice, October 2019

Looks at the processes through which people make decisions, often sub-conscious, instinctive and driven by bias, and how to work with these processes effectively.

What we know about behavioural economics

Article • WARC Best Practice, September 2019

This article provides marketers with information and guidance about using behavioural economics (BE) to inform marketing strategies.

What we know about gamification as a research method

Article • WARC Best Practice, May 2019

This article explores the reading around gamification as a research method, the attempt to make surveys and questionnaires more engaging, enhancing both the experience and ideally the quality of data.

How to use behavioural science to build new habits

Article • Crawford Hollingworth and Liz Barker, WARC Best Practice, June 2017

This article explains the lessons from behavioural science about the formation of habits and lists six strategies that marketers can employ to build, maintain and disrupt consumer habits.

Where behavioural science fits between 'normality' and continued worry

News • 06 July 2020

Pubs and hairdressers have reopened in many parts of the UK in a move that points towards a return to normality, but a YouGov poll last week indicated public ambivalence as people continue to feel worried and uncertain; in times like this, ...

Emirates NBD: Every Step Counts

Case Study • Tahaab Rais, Tala Arakji, WARC Prize for MENA Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Emirates NBD, a leading UAE bank, launched a reward-based initiative to help people improve both their financial and their physical health.

A future of opportunity: Four predictions of evolutionary change in consumers

Article • Irene Joshy, WARC Trends, June 2020

Kantar’s Irene Joshy outlines the key anchors that will drive consumer behaviour through this current pandemic period and into the future.

How to connect and communicate in these challenging times

Article • WARC COVID-19 Series, June 2020

Shows how behaviours are changing during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and provides a behavioural road map for how to communicate today and in the foreseeable future.

Updating the Foote, Cone & Belding Grid: Revisiting the product classifications of the FCB Grid for online shopping and contemporary consumers’ decision making

Article • Hyuk Jun Cheong and Yunjae Cheong, Journal of Advertising Research, Digital First, June 2020

This article proposes an update of the Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) grid, which has been one of the most popular product-classification schemes in advertising and consumer research since its conception in 1980.

Asians can't resist deals – and the physiological evidence proves it

Article • Mehak Bharti and Sharon Ng, WARC Exclusive, June 2020

Do deals evoke deeper unconscious desires within Asians that make it difficult for them to resist? New research by Nanyang Business School suggests, yes.

Building shelf awareness: Quantifying radio’s last-minute influence for FMCG brands

Article • Mark Barber, WARC Exclusive, June 2020

A review of insights and best practice findings from Radiocentre and Shoppercentric’s research into the effects of radio’s last-minute reach of shoppers for FMCG brands.

Identifying consumer tensions to drive growth

Opinion • Tim Denyer, Emma Ramsay and Mark Murray Jones, June 2020

The gap between situational change and reality creates tension. Brands that respond to these tensions stand the best chance of successfully navigating COVID-19 and the oncoming recession.

Life in the blender: Exploring the human reality of COVID-19

Article • Potluck, Research on WARC, May 2020

An investigation into the human impact of the COVID-19 crisis, capturing the more emotional side of the current situation.

Does depicting gay couples in ads influence behavioral intentions? How appeal for ads with gay models can drive intentions to purchase and recommend

Research Paper • Bradley J. Bond and Justine Rapp Farrell, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 60, No. 2, 2020, pp. 208-211

This study examines the behavioral intentions of heterosexual and lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) consumers following exposure to advertising featuring heterosexual or LGB imagery.

A portrait of the COVID-19 crisis as Filipino

Article • AdSpark, Research on WARC, May 2020

A deep dive into how the Filipino identity is seen through, and shaped by, the COVID-19 pandemic.

King County Metro: Just One Trip

Case Study • SABRE Awards, Gold, North America, 2020

King County Metro, the metro system for King County in Washington, discouraged solo driving trips in the county by using modelling software to target people most likely to change transport methods with mobile ads, events and mailings.

How can India’s brands leverage behavioural science to drive salience during the COVID-19 recovery phase?

Article • Prerna Katyal, WARC COVID-19 Series, May 2020

HCL Enterprise’s Prerna Katyal outlines how brands can leverage behavioural science concepts to predict and adapt to the changing consumer situation as markets move to a COVID-19 recovery phase.

Connecting with the personas of the new normal

Opinion • Sam Robson, May 2020

Lockdown has changed the daily routines and behaviours of many, if not most, people. Marketers need to update their personas accordingly, says Sam Robson.

Tobaccowala believes “human” skills are critical to COVID-19 recovery

Opinion • Geoffrey Precourt, May 2020

Marketers need to remember the human touch and not solely rely on data as they build brands and respond to COVID-19 alike, according to Rishad Tobaccowala, a senior adviser to Publicis Groupe.

Harris Poll tracks how consumer desires are rapidly changing as the recovery slowly unfolds

Opinion • Cathy Taylor, May 2020

Consumers in the US display a mix of eagerness and caution about returning to various pre-lockdown behaviors, according to research from The Harris Poll.

Reassessing the eight motivators of purchase in the context of COVID-19

Article • Prasad Shinde, Steven Naert and Tammy Ho, WARC COVID-19 Series, May 2020

Ipsos outlines how the eight motivators of purchase should be adapted to the current COVID-10 context.

In-car radio and FMCG purchase intent

News • 20 May 2020

Radio ads heard in the car on the way to the supermarket have a significant effect on purchasing intentions, according to new research on FMCG advertising.

Ramadan during COVID-19: Your playbook to the emerging personas during the festive season

Article • ADA, Research on WARC, May 2020

Looks at the different experiences muslims will have during Ramadan this year as they celebrate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

How health and wellbeing brands can grow during COVID-19

Article • Richard McAleavy, WARC COVID-19 Series, May 2020

With consumers more concerned about cleanliness during COVID-19, health and wellbeing brands are well positioned to benefit.

WARC from Home: Neuroscience – What it is and how it helps evaluate marketing effectiveness

Opinion • WARC from Home, May 2020

WARC from Home is a new series to help subscribers brush up on the essentials of marketing during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Behavioural insight