Five tips for driving effectiveness in 2021

The WARC Guide to new research in marketing outlines several vital considerations for driving effectiveness in 2021. 

Despite (or, perhaps, because) of the turbulence experienced in the past year, the marketing community has been focused on new thinking that can help brands improve their effectiveness in 2021.

Some of the main insights featured in The WARC Guide to new research in marketing are: 

1. A brand’s share of search – or the proportion of search traffic claimed by a specific brand compared to that of its rivals – is a useful proxy for its market share.
2. Google UK and The Behavioural Architects identified the “messy middle”, a phase in the online purchase cycle where consumers are typically engaged in one of two actions: exploring their options (an “expansive” task), or evaluating (a task aimed at reducing their options).
3. Neuroscience research applied to TV spots from brands like Ford, IKEA and Goldfish Crackers found that ads with diverse casting performed more strongly in terms of persuasiveness, attention, connection and encoding metrics with Caucasian audiences in Canada.
4. Marketers should add “digital availability” – that is, making sure brands are available to buy in more places online – to their focus on physical and mental availability.
5. “Creative commitment” – a metric based on campaign duration, budget size and the number of media channels used – has a strong correlation with campaign effectiveness.

The WARC Guide also contains recommendations around outcome-based marketing, the value of measuring attention, and the continuing importance of share of voice.