Five key priorities for delivering effective advertising

WARC today releases ‘Anatomy of Effectiveness: 2022 Edition’, a white paper giving brand marketers, advertising agencies and media owners a fresh perspective on the five key building blocks of effectiveness.

Why it matters

Much has changed since WARC published the first Anatomy of Effectiveness in 2019, David Tiltman, SVP Content, WARC, observes: “We’ve had a pandemic that saw budgets switch out of brand investment into performance marketing; we’ve seen the rise of ‘retail media’ platforms that are reshaping the media landscape; and with the impending death of the cookie we see a growing lack of confidence in advertising and media measurement.

“This updated edition of our white paper draws on new thinking and the latest evidence to present the key building blocks required to deliver commercial impact today.”

Five priorities

• Invest for growth

Understanding how factors such as brand size, campaign investment and category dynamics will determine effectiveness are key first steps when it comes to setting budgets and agreeing on objectives. Getting the right framework for investment is crucial if a campaign is to meet its potential.

• Balance your spend

Set the right framework for investment to ensure sustainable success. Whether it is long-term effects vs short-term sales impact, brand-building vs performance marketing, broad reach vs active in-market buyers or upper funnel vs lower-funnel, plan for effectiveness across different timeframes, messaging, audience types and buyer journeys to deliver maximum growth.

• Plan for reach

Campaign reach is becoming harder to achieve as media consumption fragments. This is forcing marketers to reconsider long-held assumptions about reach and frequency management. Factors to be considered include brand objectives, media selection and consumer purchase habits.

• Be creative

Creativity makes a difference and is the most powerful weapon under the marketer’s control. There is widespread evidence that creativity delivers increased effectiveness when it is distinctive, engaging, emotional and has some longevity. Recent research cited in LIONS’ State of Creativity 2022 study claims only 8% of agencies feel confident in convincing clients to invest in high-quality creativity and 12% of clients feel confident in convincing the CFO to invest in high quality creative.

• Plan for recognition

Advertising must be associated with the brand behind it, if it is to work. Planning for recognition involves creating shortcuts in consumers’ minds that make brands more memorable, impactful and easy to recall. Failure to brand communications properly is a common pitfall. Investing in and nurturing distinctive assets will enable quick recognition.

The white paper, launched in conjunction with WARC's Anatomy of Effectiveness hub, features new case studies, expert opinions and over 20 'Evidence' decks. WARC clients can read the full report here. A sample edition is available for all.

Highlights from the white paper will be presented to Cannes Lions attendees today as part of a full week’s worth of content curated by WARC, together with the world’s leading effectiveness experts, covering strategy, media, creative and digital commerce. For more details on WARC x Cannes Lions, click here. 

Amazon Live seeks influencers

Amazon is ramping up its live online shopping initiative, Amazon Live, running a series of events – at least four so far this year – and offering financial incentives to woo influencers, the Financial Times reports.

Why it matters

The jury is still out on whether western consumers will take to live online shopping with the same enthusiasm as Chinese consumers, where livestreaming e-commerce now accounts for 15% of all e-commerce sales (up from 3.5% just three years ago). 

Certainly they’re not following the same model. TikTok has refuted reports it had scrapped European and US expansion plans for its TikTok Shop feature, saying it was focused on getting the UK offering right – the implication being that it hasn’t been able to simply import what works in China.

Amazon, however, has the twin advantages of people coming to the platform already in a shopping mindset and deep pockets to take the time to make Amazon Live work.

Context 

Ironically, TikTok could be an important factor in making a success of Amazon Live: TikTok videos tagged “#amazonfinds” (indicating a product has been found on Amazon) have been collectively viewed more than 23 billion times, according to the FT. If Amazon Live can tap a fraction of those views to get people to buy through its own livestreaming channels then it could be onto a winner.

Key quote

“Amazon has fundamentally changed the game in terms of a seamless and non-sticky shopping experience. Amazon Live is a very smart extension of what’s already been happening in the ecosystem” – Gaz Alushi, President, Measurement and Analytics at Whalar. 

Sourced from Financial Times

^{[Image: Amazon Live]}

Walmart looks for authenticity over follower count when choosing TikTok collaborators

Marketers may think bigger names are better when it comes to making sponsored content, but building an array of TikTok collaborators with their own unique voices and methods of utilizing a product is more important than securing online celebrities.

Why it matters

TikTok is an increasingly essential channel in a diversified brand portfolio, and marketers must learn to adequately leverage the platform’s benefits without wasting resources. Understanding the importance of an engaged following, as well as an individual creator’s unique style and ethos, can help with navigating the video content site.

Takeaways

• To build a following on TikTok, as well as take advantage of the platform’s unique culture, brands must reach out to a multitude of creators along a diverse array of content categories.
• Part of the TikTok recipe dictates that brands place some of creative direction in the hands of individual creators and allow them to “actually bring their personality to the experience”, Anne Balestrieri, director of media strategy and planning at Walmart, explained during a session at CommerceNext 2022 titled “Master Class on TikTok Advertising: A Walmart Case Study.”
• “It can’t be overly produced, it can’t be overly prescriptive,” Balestrieri said. “Really [it’s] just letting their personalities shine and letting them say what they want to say in their own voice and playing to their strengths.”
  
• Walmart gives creators the freedom to choose the products they would like to promote; the result is a more authentic first-person testimony.
• Another important factor in building a diverse array of collaborators on TikTok is to trust their social media savvy, and ability to increase engagement on products, through the use of captions, hashtags, and “interactive elements”.
• Balestrieri encourages experimentation on the platform: for example, Walmart was “the first brand ever to execute a shoppable live stream” in a variety show format which featured 10 TikTok creators.

The big idea

“We’ve doubled down on leveraging creator-made content in lieu of repurposed branded assets on the platform, because that’s what the audience wants on TikTok” – Anne Balestrieri, director/ media strategy and planning at Walmart.

The chicken and egg of women’s sport

The Women’s Euros 2022 has kicked off with a distinct lack of buzz compared to last year’s men’s tournament, but is that because people aren’t interested or because they don’t know it’s happening? 

Why it matters

There is growing interest in women’s sport – the number of people watching three or more minutes of women’s sport coverage in Q1 2022 was almost three times that for Q1 2021.

But the main reason people don’t watch women-only sports competitions is simply because there is not enough media coverage around them. Research from GWI finds many non-engagers say female sport should be better promoted and get more attention. 

There’s clearly an untapped audience that media owners can do more to address. The BBC is showing games in the UK, so that limits advertising opportunities, but brands can find fresh ways of exposing consumers to women’s sport – ones that focus on athletic ability and skills rather than appearance.

Takeaways 

• There is a stark contrast between men’s and women’s sports: for example, 70% of European soccer fans watched the FIFA World Cup, compared to 22% who watched the Women’s World Cup.
• 16-24s are the most likely to say they don’t have the time to watch women’s sports or that they can’t find competitions. Media outlets and sports companies need to find ways to bring women’s sport to them, by offering games in ‘snackable’ portions and making sure they’re clearly available on streaming sites. 
• Women are 27% less likely to say they typically watch games at a bar, and 17% less likely to attend an event in-person every six months. The sports industry can identify new ways to ensure women feel comfortable getting involved.
• Dark Horses, a creative agency for sport, warns that the tried and tested methods of marketing men’s sport are being changed or ignored when it comes to women’s sport as brands use the game to either make a bigger statement about themselves or tick a D&I box.

Key quote

“Hero-ing female athletes or sponsoring female events should not be a D&I box-ticking exercise or a package add-on – it should be an opportunity to tell even better stories. So let’s start doing it" – Melissa Robertson, CEO of Dark Horses.

Sourced from GWI, Dark Horses, Sky Sports 

Appetite for food and drink apps grows in SEA: Report

The popularity of food and drink apps has surged in Southeast Asia as consumers become more cost-conscious and time-crunched, according to the 2022 State of Food and Drink on Mobile report by unified data AI company data.ai.

Why it matters

The growth in food and drink app downloads indicates that the market is ripe for user acquisition, but competition is heating up with the emergence of new local players and the expansion of overseas competitors.

Takeaways

• Mobile is the battleground for businesses to keep these loyal, repeat customers.
• The time spent on food & drink apps has grown 65% year-on-year globally in the last year.
• Global downloads of food & drink apps hit 1.7 billion during the last year ending March 2022 – up nearly 10% YoY.
• In SEA, Indonesia saw the largest growth of 88% YoY versus the Philippines (+48%), Singapore (+10%) and Thailand (+25%).
• Thailand and the Philippines are #6 and #7 for total time spent on food & drink apps globally – up 70% and 180% respectively.
• Malaysia (+130%), Vietnam (+150%) and Singapore (+145%) have also made it to the list of top 25 global markets by time spent.

Key quote

“The growth in total sessions highlights that consumers are forming habits and relying on these apps more than ever to access appetising food – restaurant quality or home cooking ready – at the tap of an app” – Lexi Sydow, head of insights, data.ai.

The evolution of China’s childrenswear market 

Younger Chinese parents are more fashion conscious than the older generation and are willing to spend more on children’s clothing – a market projected by Euromonitor to be worth RMB 473.8bn by 2025.

Why it matters

Vogue Business cites a shift from the “pragmatism” of 1980s-born parents to the “image value” sought by 1990s-born ones. 

The childrenswear market is always changing but in this huge market where single children have long been the norm there’s now a greater appetite for “cool” fashion and brands need to be ready to respond accordingly. 

Takeaways 

• 70% of parents aged under 30 “prefer “brands that are trendy and fresh” (Nielsen).
• Spending on maternal and infant products accounts for 30% of monthly income for those born after 1995, compared with 25% for those born after 1985 (iResearch).
• Collaborations and co-branding are seen as an effective way to attract the spending of younger parents.

Where next? 

Younger parents may be more fashion conscious but they’re also more environmentally aware and this understanding may help drive a resale market for children’s clothes. 

Sourced from Vogue Business

EU Parliament approves major new rules: DSA/DMA

EU legislators have passed a package of rules that have loomed over major online businesses since 2020 – the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act – with the potential for impact far beyond Europe.

Why it matters

These two pieces of legislation cover competition law (designed to reign in the ‘platform’ giants) and new rules on all intermediaries, including algorithmic transparency that could be hugely significant to the advertising business. These are now set to become law, according to Reuters.

In principle

Both the DSA and DMA form part of a wider package, known as Shaping Europe’s Digital Future, the meat of which will hang on two aspects: 

• “To establish a level playing field to foster innovation, growth, and competitiveness, both in the European Single Market and globally. [Digital Markets Act]
• “To create a safer digital space in which the fundamental rights of all users of digital services are protected [Digital Services Act]

In practice

• The DMA revolves around the “gatekeeper” platforms that effectively function as multi-sided marketplaces with several opportunities to favour their own services on their own platforms. It is expected to mostly affect Google and Apple.
• The DSA is broader and more complex as it touches large and small ‘intermediaries’ and places new obligations on the policing of certain kinds of content and illegal products. Advertising to children or based on sensitive personal data will be curtailed. It also carries a privacy element, with new algorithmic transparency rules applied to big platforms (45m+ users).

Like other landmark pieces of EU legislation, critics frequently cite the problem of enforcing such broad new rules, which carry such heavy penalties – breaching the DMA and DSA can result in fines of 10% or 6% of global turnover.

The EU has said these rules will be enforced at a continental, rather than the national, level – likely a response to a significant criticism of the nationally, and quite rarely, prosecuted GDPR.  

In January, parliamentarians reported an onslaught of ads and lobbying against the law, suggesting that major interests see the threat inherent in these laws.

Key quote

As if to illustrate the sheer vastness of the new rules, here’s the world’s most famous regulator, Margrethe Vestager, EVP for Europe Fit for the Digital Age, summing up the rules in a statement to the press:

“The Digital Services Act enables the protection of users' rights online. The Digital Markets Act creates fair, open online markets”, she explains.

“As an example, illegal hate speech can also be dealt with online. And products bought online must be safe. Big platforms will have to refrain from promoting their own interests, share their data with other businesses, enable more app stores. Because with size comes responsibility - as a big platform, there are things you must do and things you cannot do.”

Next steps

While a lot remains to be seen, it’s time to prepare. From an advertising perspective, there is a lot in these rules that could profoundly affect the discipline. In April, Wavemaker’s Andrew Spurrier-Dawes wrote a neat explanation of the likely impact of the Digital Markets Act for WARC.

Sourced from WARC, Reuters, European Commission. 

Brands need to balance service and price

Organisations are getting better at handling complaints, but the number of complaints continues to grow, according to new data from the UK’s Institute of Customer Service.

Why it matters

The scale of problems and complaints is hugely damaging to productivity, costing organisations billions of pounds in time, resources and lost opportunities. Rather than improving complaint handling, businesses might be better off addressing the source of the complaints.

Takeaways

• Some 17.3% of customers experienced a problem with an organisation, the highest level ever recorded in the UK Customer Satisfaction Index.
• More than a third of customers said they would pay more to guarantee excellent service.
• But 58% said low prices would be more important in influencing their choices over the next two years due to the cost of living crisis.

Key quote

“Maintaining a personal connection with customers will be central to customer satisfaction and well-being in the next year. This means being available to speak to customers, especially for complex or personally sensitive issues. It will require empathy, emotional intelligence and the ability to respond to a customer’s unique situation and needs” – Joanna Causon Chief Executive, Institute of Customer Service. 

Sourced from Institute of Customer Service

WARC Awards for MENA Strategy 2022: Juries announced

The WARC Awards for MENA Strategy jury includes experts from Procter & Gamble, Google, and Snap, as well as leading agencies such as Insignia, FP7 McCann, Grey Group, VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson – chair of the jury will be Lianne Braganza, CMO for MEA at Cigna.

Since 2017 the Awards have sought out the smartest strategy from the region and across disciplines. The jury will award a Grand Prix as well as Gold, Silver and Bronze accolades. Entries can be submitted until 21 September 2022. More information about the Awards and how to enter is available here. Entry is, as always, free.

The full jury:

• Lianne Braganza, Chief Marketing Officer, MEA, Cigna - Jury Chair
• Remie Abdo, Brand Building & Integrated Communication Director, P&G, UAE
• Tala Arakji, Strategy Director, FP7 McCann, UAE
• Vishal Badiani, Regional Creative Strategy Manager, Snap, UAE
• Mongi Bhouri, Strategic Planner, Digitas Dubai, UAE
• Ali Cheikhali, Creative Strategy Lead, Google Creative Works, Google, UAE
• Mona Hassanie, Strategy Director, Wunderman Thompson, UAE
• Fabio Medeiros, Head of Strategy, VMLY&R COMMERCE, UAE
• Maria Parsons, Head of Strategy, Grey Group, Qatar 
• Matthew Turner, Strategy Director, Insignia Worldwide, UAE

The WARC Awards

The WARC Awards for MENA Strategy are part of a suite of WARC Awards, which also include the global WARC Awards for Effectiveness, and two other regional competitions – the newly launched WARC Awards for Effectiveness, North America Edition and the WARC Awards for Asia Strategy.

WARC Award for Asian Strategy 2022: Juries announced

The WARC Awards for Asian Strategy 2022 jury panel includes expert marketers from Colgate-Palmolive, foodpanda, Meta and TWD Life Insurance, as well as leading agencies such as Essence, DDB Mudra and FRED & FARID – Chair of the jury will be Dhiren Amin, CMO of NTUC Income.

Since 2011, the Awards have sought out the smartest strategy from across the region and across disciplines. The jury will award a Grand Prix as well as Gold, Silver and Bronze accolades. Entries can be submitted until 21 September 2022. More information about the Awards and how to enter is available here. Entry is, as always, free.

The full jury:

• Dhiren Amin, Chief Marketing Officer, NTUC Income, Singapore - Jury Chair
• Connie Ang, President Director & CEO, Danone, Indonesia
• Bea Atienza, Impactful Brand Experience Leader, Colgate-Palmolive, Philippines
• Jean-Paul Burge, Former Chairman & CEO, BBDO Asia
• Karen Ge, Head of Strategy, FRED & FARID Shanghai & Managing Partner, FLAWED, China
• Jan Harling, Director - New Customer Acquisition APAC, foodpanda, Thailand
• Matt Holland, Managing Director & Client Partner - Essence APAC, Singapore
• Astor Keung, Market Development Advisor, Shell HK Limited, Hong Kong
• Naho Kono, Group Executive VP & Chief Marketing Officer, Rakuten Group, Japan
• Anand Murty, National Head of Strategy, DDB Mudra, India
• Roche Vandenberghe, Chief Marketing Officer, TWD Life Insurance, Philippines
• Michelle Yip, Consumer Marketing Director, Meta, Singapore

The WARC Awards

The WARC Awards for Asian Strategy are part of a suite of WARC Awards, which also include the global WARC Awards for Effectiveness, and two other regional competitions – the newly launched WARC Awards for Effectiveness, North America Edition and the WARC Awards for MENA Strategy.

WPP sets sights on Japan’s seniors

There are opportunities for brands and marketers in targeting Japan’s ageing population, according to WPP’s country CEO. 

Context 

Japan’s population is in decline (the current total of 125 million is expected to sink to 100 million in 2053) and the population is getting older (seniors already account for more than 29% of the population and that proportion will hit 35.3% by 2040).

The market for products and services aimed at people aged 65 or older is forecast to grow to 101.3 trillion yen by 2025. That’s up 61% from 62.9 trillion yen in 2007.

Why it matters

“The good news is that [being] older or ageing, doesn’t mean you don’t consume things,” Kyoko Matsushita said in a recent interview with Kyodo News. “You actually have more disposable income or savings.”

But seniors are more selective about what they spend on, she added. “I think what you communicate is actually very important for more of the older generation because it has to be something they need.” That’s an important consideration for the agency’s clients which include Toyota and Sony. 

In addition to the ‘what’ of communications, there’s the ‘where’ to consider: online ads now account for 24% of ad spending while traditional media platforms make up a combined 29%.

Sourced from Kyodo News

Brands react to Roe vs Wade ruling

The recent ruling that abortion is no longer protected by the US constitution is having a knock-on effect on brands and businesses, which are having to reconsider everything from their employee health care offer to their data collection practices. 

What’s happening?

• Brands like Adidas, Nike and Disney are among dozens that have publicly said they will help staff get access to health care services now unavailable in their state, by covering travel expenses, for example. 
• But that option may not be open to smaller companies that buy employee health insurance from insurers that are subject to state regulations.
• Google has said it will delete users’ location history if they visit sensitive locations such as an abortion clinic – something law enforcement agenices could potentially seek to use in prosecutions.

Why it matters

The ruling inevitably drags businesses into a divisive political area where they are forced to make choices. Some, like Levi Strauss, have been vocal: “Protection of reproductive rights is a critical business issue impacting our workforce, our economy and progress toward gender and racial equity,” the company said. “Given what is at stake, business leaders need to make their voices heard.”

It also raises new questions about data privacy, and there have been calls for any debate between the tech companies and governments about data collection to be carried out in public, so that regular people and privacy advocates can have their say.

Meantime, if people start turning off the location tracking feature on their phones that will have an impact on some products offered by tech firms as well as limiting some advertising opportunities. 

Sourced from The New York Times, Google, Washington Post, The Independent 

Charity campaigns are too short-term

The effectiveness of charity campaigns has been declining, but research from the DMA and REaD Group suggests how marketers can use data-driven insight to reverse that trend.

Why it matters

A few years back, charity donations were hit by a wave of scandals in the sector, while charity marketing departments have had to subsequently deal with increased regulation, the impact of COVID, and the current cost-of-living crisis. In addition, given the proliferation of channels, they face tough choices on where to allocate limited media spend. Knowing where to put a charity’s money to ensure the continued growth of both their supporter base and the vital revenue they generate is crucial.

Takeaways

• The majority of charity campaigns are short-term in duration and so drive a short-term response.
• Long-term campaigns generate the most effects overall, but only 8% of charity campaigns run for the long term (i.e., for over a year); this is an area where charities could consider redressing the balance.
• Campaigns that employ three or more channels are more effective at generating brand, response and business effects than those running with one or two different media.

Is it time to appoint a chief media officer?

Three quarters of advertisers and agencies think large advertisers would enhance their media management capabilities with the appointment of a chief media officer, according to a new report from ID Comms.

Why it matters

The figure of 73% is based on a small sample (45 responses from Media, Marketing, and Procurement professionals with a range of global, regional and local market responsibilities) but it is significantly up on 2019’s 57%. As the media space becomes increasingly complex, a specialist position makes sense. 

It is also evident that an important function of a chief media officer will be to improve media capabilities. The 2022 Global Media Training Report notes a long-standing failure to upgrade investment in training despite unanimous agreement that investing in media training programmes can improve media decision making and deliver better business outcomes for advertisers.

Takeaways

• Advertisers with a chief media officer (either with or without the job title) are far more likely to hold media to higher levels of accountability by raising internal media capabilities within marketing teams.
• Seventy-nine percent of respondents rated their ability to ‘make media more accountable’ as unsatisfactory.
• Eighty-five percent of media and marketing professionals – though only 50% of advertiser procurement respondents – considered investment levels to be unsatisfactory and expressed clear concerns with current levels of investment in media capability building, both within their own organisation and across the industry as a whole. 
• The main reason identified for under-investment in media capability building was lack of budget, followed by an inability to find the right training opportunities and commit time to media training.
• Training in KPI setting is most likely to help resolve gaps in advertiser capability, cited by 57% of respondents. Media ROI (46%) and briefing and evaluating agency work (46%) also remain important areas for capability building. 
• The fastest-growing area of training is the demand for addressing capability gaps in Ad Tech and Mar Tech (42% in 2022 vs 26% in 2019). 
• Advertiser respondents highlighted a need for training in how media agencies work; in turn, half of agency respondents highlighted a need for improved advertiser capabilities in running media pitches. 

Key quote

“[There is] a clear opportunity for progressive advertisers to invest in robust media capability building programmes and boost the accountability of media as a significant driver of business growth” – Matt Gill, Senior Consultant at ID Comms.

Sourced from ID Comms