Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

What we know about consumer decision making

Article • WARC Best Practice, October 2019

Looks at the processes through which people make decisions, often sub-conscious, instinctive and driven by bias, and how to work with these processes effectively.

What we know about behavioural economics

Article • WARC Best Practice, September 2019

This article provides marketers with information and guidance about using behavioural economics (BE) to inform marketing strategies.

How to use behavioural science to build new habits

Article • Crawford Hollingworth and Liz Barker, WARC Best Practice, June 2017

This article explains the lessons from behavioural science about the formation of habits and lists six strategies that marketers can employ to build, maintain and disrupt consumer habits.

New frontiers of behavioural science: The growth of bespoke nudging

Article • Crawford Hollingworth and Liz Barker, The Behavioural Architects, March 2020

Explores how individual contextual factors can influence a person’s behaviour and in turn provide new opportunities to nudge in a more nuanced and tailored way.

Efficiency can’t equal effectiveness without creativity: DDB

Article • Josie Tutty, Event Reports, Mumbrella MSIX, February 2020

DDB managing director, strategy and innovation Leif Stromnes and chief creative officer Ben Welsh explain how an over-reliance on rationality is endangering creativity in marketing.

Museum of Modern Art Bogotá: The MAMBO is leased

Case Study • Case Studies on WARC, 2018

The Museum of Modern Art Bogotá (MAMBO) increased revenues and number of visits through a stunt that saw it being put up for rent.

New Frontiers in Behavioural Science: Framing effects and contextual sensitivity

Article • Crawford Hollingworth and Liz Barker, The Behavioural Architects, February 2020

Explores how framing effects can vary depending on the surrounding context and situation, on time pressure and on individual characteristics – particularly age and cognitive abilities.

UL: Close Before You Doze

Case Study • SABRE Awards, IN2, North America, Best Persuasive Content, 2020

Fire-safety organisation the UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute put regular people into a live fire video to bring its Close Before You Doze public service campaign to life in the US.

Heinz: Mahomes 57

Case Study • SABRE Awards, IN2, North America, Best Earned Media with Influencers + Communities, 2020

Ketchup brand Heinz Tomato Ketchup leveraged NFL star Patrick Mahomes' love for the condiment to create a social media storm in the US, at zero cost.

Does mental availability matter in the digital age?

Article • Denise Turner, WARC Exclusive, February 2020

Research by Newsworks and research company house51 into the role of a brand's mental availability in e-commerce environments.

King County Metro: Just One Trip

Case Study • SABRE Awards, IN2, North America, Social Good/Non-profit, 2020

King Country Metro, a transit department, encouraged residents of Seattle to change from solo trips to public transport or carpools by creating a campaign of easy solutions to common barriers.

Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board: Tag responsibly, keep Jackson Hole wild

Case Study • SABRE Awards, IN2, North America, Best Use of Photo Networks, 2020

The Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board sought to help alleviate the unintended harm done by geotagging and create a national conversation about how to address this issue in the US via social media.

10 online travel booking trends in China, Indonesia and Japan

Article • Low Lai Chow, Event Reports, Web in Travel (WiT), October 2019

A summary of research by Phocuswright and Sojern into the role of mobile and social media on travel booking behaviour.

WarnerMedia: Privacy time with blindfolds, Playdoh and lemons

Case Study • Data and Marketing Association, Silver, 2019

WarnerMedia, a mass media company, developed an experiential learning programme for its employees in the UK to show them how to approach privacy regulation.

Macmillan Cancer Support: Events Growth Hack

Case Study • Data and Marketing Association, Silver, 2019

Macmillan Cancer Support, a charity, used drones and event footage to grow awareness of its Mighty Hikes events in the UK.

How Aldi made saving feel amazing

Case Study • Case Studies on WARC, 2019

Aldi, the budget supermarket, grew its penetration in the face of resurgent price cutting from its competitors in the UK.

Children's Panadol: First Timers

Case Study • WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Best Use of Data, 2019

Children's Panadol created a custom algorithm to drive sales and deliver outstanding results in Australia.

Tourism Central Coast: From Couch to Coast

Case Study • Luke Brown, Angela Smith, WARC Media Awards, Silver, Best Use of Data, 2019

Tourism board Tourism Central Coast created an integrated campaign driven by data-insights, to change traveller perceptions of the Central Coast, in New South Wales, Australia.

Hellmann’s: Real Food Rescue

Case Study • WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Channel Integration, 2019

Food brand Hellmann's launched a multi-media mission to defend market share while spreading awareness of how much food is wasted in Canada.

Mastercard: Not Only Tuesday

Case Study • IPG Mediabrands, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Channel Integration, 2019

Financial services brand Mastercard created a gastronomy-based promotion to increase transactions and raise awareness of its offer in Colombia.

Morinaga Milk: Calci-Add with Parmesan

Case Study • Tangrams Strategy & Effectiveness Awards, Bronze, 2019

Kraft Parmesan, a cheese brand, increased sales in Japan by launching a video in a hospital lobby and in-store activations to show people the health benefits of the high calcium content in its parmesan.

Is it possible to predict human decision-making? Using qual and quant to understand the context and emotion behind why people make choices

Research Paper • Nina Kanin and Zehra Odunayo, ESOMAR, Fusion, 2019

The Streetbees platform aims to address the complexity of human decision-making by capturing real behaviour, emotion and context in the moment of consumer choice.

WildAid: Be their Bodhisattva

Case Study • MMA Smarties, Bronze, APAC, 2019

Environmental organisations WildAid and Change Vietnam, used mobile to raise awareness of an outdoor installation aimed at discouraging the use of wildlife products in Vietnam.

Lifebuoy: The Adaptive Data Lighthouse 2.0

Case Study • MMA Smarties, Gold, APAC and Gold, India, 2019

Lifebuoy, the soap brand owned by Hindustan Unilever, targeted the people most at risk of infections preventable by good hand hygiene to increase sales in rural India.

Biti's Kid: Bitis Smart - A shoe can make kids smarter!

Case Study • MMA Smarties, Gold, X (Global), 2019

Biti's Kids, a footwear brand, designed a smart shoe and paired smartphone app that allowed Vietnamese parents to monitor how much physical exercise their kids were doing, as part of their education.

Behavioural insight