The strategic pursuit of profit with purpose is the driving force for effective marketing in Asia

Following an in-depth analysis of this year’s results, WARC has today published Insights from the WARC Awards for Asian Strategy, a report outlining lessons learned and successful marketing trends from this year’s awards.

Key insights 

• Brand advocacy takes centre-stage

Across this year’s shortlist, WARC saw a marked increase in advocacy- and sustainability-driven work. This focus on social and cultural issues – by winners such as Lifebuoy and Dove – reflects consumers’ new expectations of brands based on actions and long-term commitment to worthy causes.

• Partnerships strengthen brands in tough times 

Many of this year’s winners showed how strategic partnerships can help amplify reach and lead to growth. Brands like Pizza Hut, Unilever and Gillette, joined forces with parties that were seemingly unrelated to their brands, helping them reach new audiences and uncover new areas of growth.

• Emotional strategies are built on actions

This year saw a jump in the use of emotion as a creative strategy. But tugging at the heartstrings is not enough: truly empathetic communications go beyond messaging to support and engage consumers, as proven by winners like Cadbury Celebrations and Ginebra San Miguel.

• TV leads sophisticated media strategies 

While TV strengthened its lead, in part due to lockdowns forcing people to stay at home, the most successful campaigns were those that showed a layered approach to media planning. Ariel, for example, combined its main TV commercial with extensive social activity.

Download a sample of the insights report here. More information on the WARC Awards for Asian Strategy 2021 is available here.