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WARC Talks: Why anime is the next big subculture for marketing

In this episode of the WARC Podcast we discuss why anime is the next big subculture for marketing.

• WARC’s Rica Facundo is joined by Robin Lau Global Strategist – Digital and Entertainment at Dentsu.
• Establishing the origins of the Japanese art form and how it differs from animation in other cultures, Rica and Robin unpack the rise of anime as a cultural force, anime fandoms and why marketers should be paying attention to this.
• The podcast contains best practice examples for brands looking to use anime in their activations, as well as common pitfalls that should be avoided.

Listen to the episode in full here

Timestamps

02:24 – What is anime?

05:47 – What’s the difference between anime and animation?

08:13 – Why is anime so popular in Asia and around the world?

11:37 – What does the average anime fan look like?

15:49 – What do anime fans look for in brands that are trying to reach them?

18:59 – Successful examples of anime activations.

22:09 – Common pitfalls.

25:10 – Why should brands work with an anime ambassador?

27:58 – What’s the first step for marketers looking to work in this space?

Further reading

Has the influencer bubble burst? Your next brand ambassador could be a famous anime character

Anime: A cultural phenomenon that SEA marketers can't ignore

Where to start with marketing mix modelling

In a new report, WARC and Magic Numbers delve deep into the fundamentals of marketing mix modelling, an essential technique as advertising moves away from cookie-based measurement. 

Why MMM matters

While advertisers may now have a better understanding of what MMM is, and why it’s so useful, there remains a gulf of knowledge about how to bring MMM into the marketing organisation, and what to do once it’s set up. 

WARC members can read the report here. 

What the report covers

The guide is divided into five chapters, covering key topics including how to implement MMM successfully, how to interpret and use MMM results, and frequently asked questions. Finally, the report looks into effective uses of MMM through three brand case studies: 

• Wagamama
• Mars Petcare
• Cazoo

Key quote

“When done right and communicated well, MMM gives people the confidence they need to make the right moves and succeed with their marketing” – Dr Grace Kite, Economist and Founder, Magic Numbers. 

News subscriptions vulnerable to being seen as ‘not worth it’

The idea for subscriptions originated in the media sector, but news organisations are finding that their value to consumers is more easily questioned than that of entertainment brands, figures from Oxford’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism suggest. 

Why subscriptions matter

Subscriptions for news, entertainment, or even household essentials like toilet paper are all around us. The business model became extremely popular when non-traditional sectors discovered a large and generally more predictable revenue stream built on one key decision to buy rather than a series of decisions to buy each week or month. As the model has proliferated, however, competition has intensified, leaving news brands exposed to being seen as ‘not worth it’. 

What’s going on

The study from the Reuters Institute combines data for 20 countries from its annual Digital News Report with 110 qual interviews across the UK, US, and Germany. 

• Beware introductory offers. While price promotions or introductory offers are effective in bringing onboard new subscribers, many drop off once the deal ends and they are asked to pay full price – chiming with Les Binet’s observation that “price promotions are the crack cocaine of marketing.”
  
• Differentiation. People are attracted to news brands when the content is the differentiating factor, and considered high quality, curated, and exclusive. A strong brand, based on a perception of quality and a good experience, is also vital. 
• Market context matters. In the US, 21% of people surveyed subscribe to a digital news product; in Germany the figure is 11% and in the UK it's 9%, because there are more free news services and fewer pay. The aggressive pricing of entertainment streaming services have a similar effect of conditioning expectations. 

Key quote

“News is as important as anything, but if I were to cut one, I would first think of cutting my news subscription before any other” – Male, 29, based in the United States and a new subscriber. 

Sourced from Reuters, WARC

Why advertisers should be more discerning with YouTube ad placement

Advertisers benefit from being adjacent to premium YouTube content in three key ways, according to a new study* from Vevo and Channel 4.

The advantages of appearing next to premium content 

• Viewers are more likely to watch premium content in superior environments – and as a result are open-minded to seeing ads as part of that experience.
• Premium content is 3.2x more likely to be viewed on a TV than non-premium content, meaning it is more likely to be watched socially, organically boosting reach. It also tends to be viewed in longer, dedicated sessions, enhancing engagement; and enjoyed in a more relaxed, immersive setting, increasing reception.
• Audiences are more likely to have a positive emotional response to watching premium publisher content – creating a positive halo effect on advertising brands.

Why premium content matters

“For advertisers, not all content is the same and nor are publishers,” says James Cornish, SVP, International Sales & Partnerships, Vevo. “Premium publishers’ content delivers significant advantages: a safe and positive environment that fosters trust, prestige, and receptivity.”

Key findings 

• In most cases, trust and believability metrics were doubled when an ad was found within premium content. Conversely, negative connotations for that brand decreased five-fold.
• The study reported nearly 3x more positive brand perception because of placement within premium content, while ads in non-premium were 5x more likely to be perceived as low quality.
• Overall, the expectations of advertising brands are fundamentally elevated when situated within fit-for-TV content, with the association that ads and the content they sit with have a similar quality.

* Retaining Trust and Quality in a Sea of Content is based on a survey of 1,000 British consumers (aged 16 to 40 years old who regularly watch video content) which identified and quantified the factors that boost the value of ads consumed within ‘fit for TV’ content (as defined by BARB) on YouTube. Qualitative research was also undertaken with 16 consumers. 

Sourced from Vevo, Channel 4

Podcast fans aren’t really listening to ads

UK podcast fans are increasingly likely to find ads intrusive, with two in five skipping them entirely, according to research from YouGov Profiles. 

Why podcast ads matters

Podcast audiences are growing and advertising spend is following, with previous research indicating that listeners show greater engagement with ad content and are more receptive than TV audiences. But that was a couple of years ago. As the podcast ad market has matured, with a rise in programmatic inventory helping move it beyond host-read ads, the podcast experience has changed – and not necessarily to the benefit of the listener.

Takeaways

• Two in five (42%) of regular listeners find adverts that are played during a podcast to be intrusive and choose to skip them; four years ago the figure stood at 36%.
• A further one in five (18%) finds ads to be intrusive, but listen to them anyway (vs. 17% in 2019).
• 14% say they do not find them intrusive but they also don’t find them particularly interesting (compared to 17% in 2019).
• Just one in seven (14%) say they do not find them intrusive and do find them interesting (vs. 11% in 2019), and a further 6% say they don’t listen to podcasts with ads at all (vs. 15% in 2019).

Sourced from YouGov Profiles

The £10m cost of dull advertising

Any campaign can be successful if you throw enough money at it, but a dull campaign will cost you tens of millions more a year more to match the performance of an exciting and well-thought-out campaign, according to marketing consultant Peter Field.

Why it matters

“Dull is expensive commercially, because you have to put so much more effort and money to land the dull message than an interesting one,” says Adam Morgan of eatbigfish, who’s currently developing the ‘Cost of Dull’ project with Field and System1. He adds that dull is also expensive because it’s “excluding”, for both consumers and colleagues. 

Putting a price on dull 

Initial research undertaken by Field, in his usual hunting ground of the IPA Effectiveness Awards database, came up with the £10m figure and that’s just an average – it can be double in some categories where share of voice is more expensive. 

Takeaways 

• Campaigns pursuing dull advertising have far larger budgets than the ones that are not dull – “to the extent of 11 points of Share of Voice”, Field reports. 
• It’s already costly to buy Share of Voice in categories like retail and durables; a dull campaign here will lead to an extra £20m a year to match the effects of an interesting campaign.
• The road to tedium is paved with good intentions: no one consciously wants to be dull but corporate metrics will often push marketers down that path; and if dull is the category norm it can be difficult to take risks. 
• Years of focus on performance marketing has driven short-term, bottom-of-funnel sales, but that sort of creative approach has also been applied to top-of-funnel marketing where it is much less effective. 

Key quote

“We’re not saying dull campaigns are ineffective. It’s just they do not work very hard. And you get a much, much bigger performance out of these more exciting campaigns – it can be six or seven times greater for every euro, dollar or pound you put behind them” – Peter Field.

The definition of dull 

Dull campaigns occupy one end of the spectrum, being all about information and using facts to persuade. At the opposite end are “fame” campaigns, using emotions to engage consumers and get them talking about a brand. 

Sourced from Let’s Make This More Interesting

[Image: Peter Field]

Indonesia delivers blow to social commerce

The Indonesian government is to ban social media companies from taking direct e-commerce payments on their platforms, as it seeks to protect millions of offline small and medium-sized businesses from being squeezed. 

Why a social commerce ban matters

It’s a particular blow for TikTok’s ambitions: its TikTok Shop is one of the app’s most popular features in Indonesia, and it hoped to replicate that success in other countries as it pursues a target of quadrupling e-commerce sales in 2023.

Where next?

Legislation has yet to pass but it seems likely that promotions will still be permitted. Marketers will almost certainly have to rethink their budget allocations and content strategies; a shift from performance to brand marketing could follow. 

Meanwhile, authorities around the world will be watching with interest to gauge the impact of the restrictions and to study TikTok’s response as they contemplate regulation of a new and fast-growing area of commerce.

Final thought

“This could be an excellent opportunity to carry out small test-and-learn campaigns with channels which have not been overly crowded by brands, making them cheaper channels to spend on” – David Lim, principal consultant at Avante Strategies, speaking to Campaign Asia.

Sourced form Verdict, Campaign Asia

Does resale really reduce carbon emissions?

Resale does little to reduce the carbon footprint of fast fashion brands, although it can have a meaningful impact for premium apparel and outdoor brands, a new study finds.

Why resale matters 

Parts of the fashion industry, in the spotlight for the levels of carbon emissions and waste generated, are attempting to address environmental problems by encouraging resale. 

But for fast fashion brands, “it’s misplaced effort”. That’s according to Andy Reuben, co-founder of the branded re-commerce solution Trove and an author of the new report, ‘Where Are Circular Models Effective Sustainability Strategies for Fashion Brands?’.

“What they’re basically doing is moving around items that hold none of their value, which is a marketing program,” he told CNBC. 

The carbon reductions for such brands are less than 1% but move up the scale for premium apparel and outdoor brands, with resale able to reduce emissions by around 15%.

Takeaways 

• All brands can decarbonize their products through supply chain interventions – updating designs to eliminate production waste, sourcing more recycled materials, installing lower energy machinery. 
• Resale is a more viable option for durable products that retain their value. Brands can also optimize parameters such as resale price, sell-through, and trade-in values. 
• Maintaining operational control in managed resale gives brands a direct means to capture Scope 3 emissions reductions. 

Key quote

“Brands have to demonstrate meaningful investment into shifting their model. When they’re kind of skirting around the edges, by doing either a branded peer-to-peer site or working closely with a marketplace, they’re not actually shifting their model. They’re continuing to do the things that got their carbon emissions” – Gayle Tait, CEO at Trove.

Methodology

For the report, Trove, a supplier of “branded recommerce solutions”, modeled the carbon footprint of 38 products across five apparel brand archetypes (premium, outdoor, mid-tier, athleisure and fast fashion) to understand the impacts of decarbonization and circular strategies.

Sourced from Trove, CNBC

EA Sports FC: can a product outweigh a brand?

With the launch of EA Sports FC 24 this week, the game formally known as FIFA breaks away from the football governing body that had helped build its name, but it remains to be seen if the rebrand will be any barrier to success, or if the game publisher has put sufficient media and creative support behind it.

Why FIFA/EA Sports FC matters

When news of the conscious decoupling broke back in 2022, WARC noted how difficult it is to explain to non-players of the game just how important it is to the gaming world. It is the sixth best-selling video game franchise of all time globally (only titanic entities like Mario, Pokémon, and Call of Duty have outsold it). Across Europe, it was the top selling game last year. 

But that was under the FIFA name, licensed for a hefty annual fee until this year: the two sides reportedly failed to reach an agreement on a fee demanded by FIFA in the region of $300m a year. EA Sports decided to go it alone, armed with the game, a significant roster of major leagues and major teams, and a large marketing budget. 

This week, the publisher puts its bet on being the original and best to the test. FIFA, meanwhile, bets on its name, the World Cup, and diversification in the gaming industry. 

What’s going on 

The release this week of EA Sports FC 24 marks a turning point. “I don't think there's anything that compares to this rebrand in particular,” says Landor & Fitch executive creative director Graham Sykes, who underscores the risks of undoing the watermark of authenticity. 

Of course, any player of FIFA/EA Sports FC will recognise the audio tagline, “EA Sports: it’s in the game,” that has played to audiences every single time they start up the title. That’s a lot of exposure, considering that the franchise had its debut in 1993. 

Much of the critical reaction has centred around how little change has taken place in the game itself, lamenting the opportunity to turn a new page. On the surface, however, the things that matter remain the same: its licensing portfolio of more than 19,000+ players, 700+ teams, 100+ stadiums and 30 leagues. They include Europe’s largest and most popular top flights: the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A, as well as the North American MLS. 

The marketing effort and new visual identity comes from Uncommon Creative Studio, which took on the mantle of relaunching a game with a rich history of campaigns unafraid to engage with the wider culture associated with it. 

Based on triangles, the visual identity centres not only on the icon that the game has used for decades, to show which player is being controlled, but connects to a deeper footballing idea: the triangles in total football and the more modern tiki-taka or gegenpressing. Ahead of Friday, expect to see much more of this. 

Sourced from WARC, BBC, IGN, Uncommon, Statista 

[Image: EA Sports]

The importance of verification across all media

There is value in consistent, holistic measurement and protection across media channels, according to Double Verify’s Global Insights Report. 

It reveals how digital spends can be validated in a rapidly evolving landscape, having examined media quality and trends from 5.5 trillion media transactions across 2,000 consumers in 100 countries.

Why verification matters

Verification is like a security system, so it is important for brands to verify media across all channels. Advertisers should have “always on” verification, ensuring quality that creates the right foundation for performance.

Takeaways

• Unmanaged campaigns have poor viewability rates, higher fraud incidences, and brand and safety infractions.
• Every platform is a new way to engage with audiences/advertisers and the verification system must adapt to the media strategy.

Putting a figure on the value of ad-supported digital services

Free, ad-funded digital services – such as email, social media, online news and streaming services – are worth an average £14,600 per year to every UK household, a new study from IAB UK finds.

Why ad-supported digital services matter

The figure from the industry body represents ‘consumer surplus’, or the value that people place on ad-funded digital services being free. And in the current cost-of-living crisis, 70% of UK adults say it’s important to them that online services are free – indeed, over a quarter of people have used free online entertainment more in the last year as a result of budgets being squeezed, according to The Digital Dividend*.

Takeaways 

• Business investing in digital advertising in 2022 saw a combined total of £73bn in increased sales as a result, with £26bn of that among small and medium-sized companies.
• For every £1 spent on digital advertising, £4.80 was delivered back to the economy in GVA.
• The digital ad industry contributed a total of £129bn in gross value added to the UK economy in 2022, with £39bn directly generated by businesses within the digital advertising sector.

The IAB UK take

“Having a deeper understanding of [the contribution of the digital ad industry and how people value the services it funds] is particularly important at the moment, with 85% of the population worried about rising inflation and the Government considering how to further regulate the digital ad sector. This can only be done effectively if the very real benefits that digital advertising delivers for people and businesses across the country are recognised and protected” – Christie Dennehy-Neil, Head of Policy & Regulatory Affairs at IAB UK.

* The study, conducted by Public First, draws on a mixture of new economic modelling, data analysis and consumer opinion research.

Sourced from IAB UK

The talent question at the heart of retail media innovation

Talent fuels innovation, and innovation drives demand for talent, but many marketers are unable to find and retain the talent needed to support sustained growth in the hotbed of innovation that is retail media, a new report from WARC Digital Commerce argues. 

 Recruiting Digital Talent: Strategies for Retail Media and Beyond takes a deep dive into talent and innovation, and presents a framework that organizations can deploy in order to acquire and retain talent. It’s the second in a three-part series on Organizational Readiness from WARC DC, in partnership with the Digital Shelf Institute.

Why talent matters so much in retail media 

In short, these skills are very new. An individual with two years’ experience may be more of an ‘expert’ than one with five years. Digital transformation of any type needs to include an effort to assess the people and processes responsible for recruiting the talent the organization requires to grow.

What you need to know

The framework proposed in the report revolves around five key takeaways: 

• The talent process needs to modernize
• It must integrate stakeholders from across the organization
• It needs to include a strategic understanding of which areas are best in-sourced and which are best outsourced 
• Recruitment and retention go hand in hand
• Recruiting teams need to be empowered and upskilled

More from the series

How retail media is disrupting marketing structures was published in July 2023. 

[Image: Marketers’ Toolkit 2023]

APAC attitudes to parenting undergoing profound shift

Just over half of APAC parents say they have questioned their decision to have children and one in three non-parents say they never will have kids, according to a global study. 

‘The Truth About Modern Families’ – a report* from McCann Worldgroup Truth Central – explores key themes related to family structure and examines the complicated identities of parents, the role of technology in family life, new dynamics in family hierarchies and the role of brands.

Why APAC parents matter

Amid cultural shifts in how, when, who and if people want to have children, the very definition of parenting is undergoing profound shifts that the brand community must be aware of and responsive to in order to connect with this coveted cohort.

Takeaways 

• 54% of APAC parents say they’ve questioned their decision to have children, while 65% believe that everyone has a responsibility to have kids.
• More than two-thirds (68%) of APAC non-parents have questioned whether to have children, with one in three having decided not to.
• Participants in Japan (50%), Hong Kong (44%), Singapore (42%) and Thailand (42%) ranked higher than the global average (38%) in saying they don’t plan to have children.
• But the fame/fortune paradox is that 60% of APAC parents want their children to be famous: three out of the five top-ranking countries globally are from Asia – India (81%), China (78%) and Thailand (71%).
• Being famous is seen as a way to move up the socioeconomic ladder, in contrast with the West, where only 25% of US parents hope their children will find fame, down from 41% in 2015.
• APAC is one of the nerve centres of the tech revolution and technology is seen as a net positive in parenting – 74% of Asian parents say technology helps them to get more out of family life.
• This is higher than the global average of 64%, with Indonesia ranking the highest globally at 87%, followed by China at 85%, Thailand at 83% and India at 81%.
• A high number of parents also say that it is easier to keep their children entertained compared to in the past: India, Thailand and Indonesia at 84%, Philippines at 81%, and China at 74%.

Key quote

“Brands have a unique opportunity to be there for parents as they grapple with everything from the tactical to the existential, but first they must understand them” – Laura Simpson, Chief Intelligence Officer and President of Truth Central, McCann Worldgroup. 

*McCann's global study aggregated responses from 55,000 people (parents and non-parents) across 28 markets, including 10 in APAC: China, India, Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Indonesia and South Korea.