The Globalization of Social Media: Consumer Relationships with Brands Evolve in the Digital Space

Graeme Hutton and Maggie Fosdick

Editor’s Note: The findings that follow represent a compilation from the first five stages—or “Waves”—of a multi-stage Universal McCann (UM) global social-media study.

The Globalization of Social Media: Consumer Relationships with Brands Evolve in the Digital Space

Graeme Hutton and Maggie Fosdick

Universal McCann (UM)

INTRODUCTION: RIDING THE WAVE

Social-Media Ecosystem

Since Universal McCann (UM) initiated its “Wave” global social media study series in 2006, the dynamics, behaviors, and even structures of the ecosystem have evolved and changed dramatically. For example, video has become the dominant force in social media, overtaking the written form—the latter exemplified by blogs having been the clear leader in 2006.

In Wave 1, reading blogs stood at 54 percent. By Wave 5, blogging engagement had steadily...

WARC subscribers can sign in to keep reading

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands