Successful brands in Asia utilise a mix of the old and the new in their marketing, and mix influence and action in their strategies according to WARC’s Asian Strategy Report 2018, published today.

The report, based on an analysis of the results of this year’s WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, a search for the best strategic ideas that have driven business results in Asia, highlights four key themes for effective marketing in Asia:
  • Leveraging influence for effectiveness
    Influence, as opposed to influencers, was a key feature of many of the winning campaigns. From the McDonald’s Gaokao campaign that encouraged the nation to rally behind the nation’s youth, to Whisper in India that effected behavioural change, influence was evident in a myriad of forms.

  • New digital models are emerging
    Digital needs to be allowed to drive business, should facilitate value exchanges and must be considered as just one of a few points in a customer journey – not the entirety of it. These take-outs came from many of this year’s winners that showed how Asia is investing in emergent digital formats that are paving the way for future brands.

  • Brands need to harness experience
    An ‘actions, not words’ approach should be employed by brands across Asia looking to engage consumers who are, in the words of one judge, “wearied by the ineffectiveness of most marketing and advertising”.

    From Dettol demonstrating the importance of hand hygiene by representing germs with glitter in Indian schools, to Vodafone helping protect the privacy of its female customers, such initiatives give brands a powerful point of difference in the marketplace.

  • Persuasive storytelling is still potent
    Storytelling is far from over in Asia – it’s still of paramount importance for brands. Whether it was a humorous campaign from Seoul Dairy that engaged millennials or a touching portrayal from personal care brand Vicks of the trials of a transgender mother in India, persuasive storytelling helped this year’s Prize winners with brand positioning and campaign effectiveness.

Summing up, Lucy Aitken, Managing Editor, Case Studies, WARC, says: “In our quest to help marketers become more effective, the trends highlighted in our Asian Strategy Report bring valuable insights to brands in the region during a time of digital transformation and when societal assumptions are being challenged.”

A sample of WARC’s Asian Strategy Report 2018 can be downloaded here. The full report is available to WARC subscribers and includes chapter analysis of campaign trends with views and opinions from the judges, as well as lessons and summaries – objectives, insights, strategies, results and takeaways – of the winning case studies.

Sourced from WARC