Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

What we know about new ad testing methods

Article • WARC Best Practice, December 2019

This article summarises key insights from a series of papers on new ad testing methods which are driven by advances in technology and neuroscience and must focus on consumers' rational and emotional drivers.

How to use copy testing or pre-testing

Article • Daren Poole, WARC Best Practice, June 2016, pp. 10-13

This article outlines the pros and cons of using copy testing to optimise a campaign, as well as a number of best practice guidelines.

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.

Titan Watches: Create Your Moment

Case Study • Anaika Jaggarow, WARC Prize for MENA Strategy, Entrant, 2020

Watchmaker Titan used crowdsourcing to create a campaign supported by influencer marketing and digital media to enhance brand awareness and boost sales in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

McDonald's values maturity

Case Study • SABRE Awards, Gold, EMEA, 2020

McDonald's, a fast food restaurant brand, increased its number of mature employees in the UK by creating a multi-channel campaign featuring current mature employees.

Attention should be the new table stakes when it comes to media measurement

Article • Jonathan Waite, WARC Exclusive, June 2020

The current impression measurement system is confused and needs challenge and disruption.

Using attention to scale creative excellence at Mars

Article • Sorin Patilinet, WARC Exclusive, June 2020

In today’s overcluttered advertising landscape, the ability to attract consumer attention is a key performance indicator.

The WARC Guide to Planning for Attention

Article • WARC Best Practice, June 2020

A summary of new thinking and best practice on Planning for Attention, from the WARC Guide.

Co-op: Optimised for attention

Article • Caroline Beesley, WARC Exclusive, June 2020

Looks at Co-op's approach of testing new innovations to better understand consumer attention.

Defining the added value of attention measurement

Article • Professor Karen Nelson-Field, WARC Exclusive, June 2020

At the moment, media is sold on opportunity or potential to view rather than whether someone has actually seen the ad or not – as it turns out, many don’t see it, yet advertisers still pay.

How public service ads can make an impact

News • 29/05/2020

Public service advertisers may benefit from using narrative storytelling to elicit a sense of empathy among their audience, a study published in the Journal of Advertising Research (JAR) has found.

Kenya National Bureau for Statistics: Count Me In - 2019 National Census for Kenya

Case Study • SABRE Awards, Africa, 2020

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), a government department, created a tailored social and traditional media campaign to engage with Kenya's diverse population.

Vinda Deluxe: The Malaysian Cause

Case Study • Vinod Manoharan, Edmund Hon, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Brand Purpose, 2020

Vinda Deluxe, the tissue brand, grew sales and brand scores in Malaysia by connecting their key product attribute with a consumer insight.

How advertisers can tune into connected TV

Article • Elizabeth Lane and Steph Clarke, WARC Exclusive, March 2020

Advice from IAB UK on how brands can begin advertising on connected TV devices.

Aldi: Like Brands 2011-2018

Case Study • Case Studies on WARC, 2018

Discount supermarket chain Aldi increased sales, market share and quality perceptions in the UK through an eight-year long campaign that highlighted the quality and convenience of its products by comparing them with much-loved brands.

What we know about campaign and brand tracking

Article • WARC Best Practice, February 2020

Explores the current thinking and writing on campaign and brand tracking, as the subject undergoes fundamental change due to an influx of new ideas from behavioural economics and research into low attention processing of advertising.

AG Barr: Refresh your Ramadan

Case Study • Integrated Marketing Communications Council Europe, Bronze, Shopper Marketing, 2019

Rubicon, a soft drink brand produced by A.G. Barr, launched targeted social media content before, during and after Ramadan to increase sales among people celebrating in the UK.

How creatives and strategists should work with researchers

News • 13/12/2019

New research explores how creatives and strategists can bridge the gap with researchers for better advertising - here’s what you need to know.

The Brand Benefits Study

Research Paper • MRS Awards, Finalist, MRS Award for Media Research, 2019

Pearl & Dean, a cinema advertising company, utilised a unique implicit testing methodology to prove that cinema is instrumental in benefiting brands in the UK.

TV ads are too short-term in focus

News • 02/12/2019

Brands in the UK and US are too focused on narrow, goal-orientated TV creative rather than making ads that are based on empathy, relationships and human connection, according to a study by market-research firm System1.

The role of empathy and efficacy in public service announcements: Using narratives to induce bystander intervention in domestic violence

Research Paper • Eunjin (Anna) Kim and Sidharth Muralidharan, Journal of Advertising Research, Digital First, November 2019

This research explores the understudied relationship between two crucial variables—empathy elicited by narratives and the degree of efficacy possessed by bystanders—by using narratives in public service announcements.

Why literal, factual, repetitive TV ads are leading to a decline in effectiveness

Article • Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, Media, Marketing & Effectiveness Conference, November 2019

System1, the market-research firm, conducted a variety of studies that helped determine the impact of changing approaches to TV advertising.

Why Kevin the Carrot is a great Christmas ad

News • 25/11/2019

Different, emotional, enjoyable, attention-grabbing and able to create love for the brand – these are among the reasons that Aldi’s latest outing for Kevin the Carrot has been judged the UK’s most powerful ad of Christmas 2019.

How Aldi made saving feel amazing

Case Study • Case Studies on WARC, 2019

Aldi, the budget supermarket, grew its penetration in the face of resurgent price cutting from its competitors in the UK.

Tourism Central Coast: From Couch to Coast

Case Study • Luke Brown, Angela Smith, WARC Media Awards, Silver, Best Use of Data, 2019

Tourism board Tourism Central Coast created an integrated campaign driven by data-insights, to change traveller perceptions of the Central Coast, in New South Wales, Australia.

Copy testing & pre-testing