Author Q&A

If you are interested in contributing please email Lena Roland, Managing Editor, WARC Knowledge.

The subjects of articles should relate to the interests of the WARC Guide's core readership of senior executives working in planning, strategy and insight within communication agencies, advertiser marketing departments, market research agencies and the marketing and research side of the media.

Word Counts

WARC Guide features are typically either 1500 to 2000 words but can be extended by agreement.

Author credits and promotion

Author credits will be given in the byline to the article. A brief biography of the author of up to 30 words can be sent with the submitted copy. Some articles will feature in WARC News. Authors might be invited to do a short Q&A video on their focus topic, or a spin-off webinar with WARC. Authors will be sent a PDF copy of the WARC Guide article.

Writing style

The WARC Guide focuses on giving marketers the confidence to tackle marketing’s biggest challenges through ideas and evidence. This should influence your writing style, namely, that propagation of ideas and arguments is fine, if backed by evidence – brand examples, research, case studies.

WARC Guide articles are not an opportunity to promote the author's company or products. Any such overt references within articles may be edited out.

Articles should include a summary of what this means for marketers and/or agencies. Conclude with a list of key implications or things to consider.

Bear in mind that the WARC Guide has an international readership, so parochial references to brands, marketing examples and topical matters that are well-known locally may be unfamiliar to many people.

Do not include a list of references at the end of the article. References should be embedded within the body copy.

Copy should not depend on charts and tables for its comprehension. Charts should provide supplementary information and enhance the presentation of the article. They must be capable of being remade in Admap's house style. Suggested headlines, standfirsts and cross-heads can be included in the copy, but may be changed in the editing process.

Copy should be filed as a Word Document. Present the copy as a fully formed article, not a presentation. Key points can be numbered, or bulleted.

Accompanying photography and charts

Advertising campaign stills, product shots or other imagery relevant to a submitted article are welcome. These should be in jpeg or tiff format and a minimum of 14cm in width and 300 dpi in resolution. They should be sent as separate files – do not embed them into the copy.

Charts can be submitted, but will need to be remade in the Guide's house style and will be included at WARC’s discretion. Hence, submitted copy should not depend for its reader comprehension on the inclusion of charts as some, or all, may not be published.

Editing and publishing

We reserve the right to edit copy. Should significant editing be required that would materially change the article, the author may be asked to redraft the article. The decision whether to publish the article rests with the WARC Knowledge team.

Copyright assignment

Authors will be asked to sign a form that will assign copyright in the article to WARC, giving WARC the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute the article in any form. This form must be signed and returned before the article can be published.