Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

What we know about sponsorship effectiveness

Article • WARC Best Practice, July 2019

Examines how brands can build awareness and increase loyalty through effective sponsorship.

What we know about marketing at major sporting events

Article • WARC Best Practice, April, 2019

The current thinking and reading on the subject of sports marketing – aligning a brand or product with an event or team – including major sporting events such as The Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup or The Super Bowl.

What’s working in sponsorship

Article • WARC Category Intelligence, January 2019

Global strategies, campaign updates and trends in sponsorship.

How to plan an effective sports sponsorship strategy

Article • Neil Hopkins, WARC Best Practice, March 2018

Provides marketers with key best practices on planning an effective sports sponsorship strategy, which is dependent on a rigorous strategic planning process to ensure effective targeting.

Sports sponsors need to tap fan goodwill

News • 27 November 2019

Traditional measurement of sports sponsorship packages indicates an uplift of 30% in commercial effects when fans are aware of the linkage, but this more than doubles when fans can see how their own experience improves.

Generating fan goodwill: The key to increased sponsorship effectiveness

Article • Professor Tony Meenaghan, Jamie Macken and Mark Nolan, WARC Exclusive, November 2019

Research study by Core Ireland showing that fan engagement is a key driver of effectiveness in sponsorship.

New Balance: The Runaway Pub

Case Study • Jay Chiat Strategic Excellence Awards, Silver, Product/Service Creation, 2019

New Balance, a sportswear brand, created The Runaway pub, a pub specifically for runners where the only way to pay for a pint was with miles run, to connect with London Marathon runners in the UK.

Zhonghua White Now: How Zhonghua Shone Through

Case Study • Tony Chan, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Entrant, 2019

Trusted toothpaste brand Zhonghua expanded into China's toothpaste whitening category with a product placement deal that targeted the young viewers of popular reality TV show Produce 101.

Aquafina: From essential to quintessential

Case Study • Lam Ung, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Entrant, 2019

Bottled water brand Aquafina used digital and social media to amplify its strategic partnership with Fashion Week and elevate the brand in Vietnam.

Dove Chocolate: New Year, New Blessings

Case Study • Aaron Zhang, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Entrant, 2019

Chocolate brand Dove created engaging content and viral videos that coincided with Chinese New Year to maximise profits and spread its brand message to young consumers in China.

Pharmaton: TV Sponsorship Enhanced Interaction with Second Screen

Case Study • MIXX Awards, Bronze, Campaign Effectiveness, 2019

Pharmaton, a multivitamin product, sponsored TV show Survivor which enabled it to reach 50% of its target audience in Turkey.

Does sports sponsorship get noticed?

News • 03 June 2019

In a summer of league finals and World Cups in multiple sports, a handful of blue-moon moments are arriving all at once.

A massive summer for sports sponsors, but will fans notice?

Article • Alex Charkham, WARC Exclusive, May 2019

With research revealing that most people people dislike or are indifferent to advertising, sponsors of sporting events need to think carefully about playing a useful role in the fan experience.

Otrivin: Near at hand

Case Study • Dmitry Anureev, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Content Strategy, 2019

Nasal spray brand Otrivin used a mix of traditional and digital media to increase spontaneous awareness of the brand in Russia.

Bank of America: Echoes of Vietnam

Case Study • Jessica Perrin, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Brand Purpose, 2019

Bank of America created an online streaming audio-visual experience based on the Vietnam War to drive positive sentiment among millennials in the US.

Media Strategy Report 2019: Insights from the WARC Media Awards

Article • WARC Exclusive, March 2019

Analysing trends in media strategy, including the use of data, tech, channel integration and partnerships, with lessons drawn from the winners of the WARC Media Awards.

Coles and MasterChef: Commercial sponsorship in Australian TV

Article • Brooke Hemphill, Event Reports, Mumbrella Entertainment Marketing Summit, November 2018

The decade-long partnership between Australian grocery chain Coles and MasterChef is a standard setter for brand integration within a television setting.

After fake news, now it's fake sponsored content

News • 20 December 2018

Sponsored content on Instagram user feeds was once seen by many as “selling out”, but now it’s considered cool and a sign of success.

Diageo: The Welcome Drink

Case Study • Anouk Kalaf, Linda Fagerlund, WARC Media Awards, Silver, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2018

Drinks manufacturer Diageo joined forces with TV cooking show MasterChef and created a multimedia strategy to boost spirit sales in Australia.

RAM Pro Master: Rapid Your Business Partner

Case Study • Marco Cordero, Yuridia Ruiz, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2018

Automotive brand RAM launched a new small van model in Mexico by appealing to small business owners.

Clear: NBA Live in-game sponsorship

Case Study • Kel Alegre, Nol Christian Calimbahin, Loren Saguil, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2018

Anti-dandruff shampoo Clear changed its brand proposition and used its sponsorship of the NBA Live app to increase brand awareness of its Cool Sport hero variant, and drive engagement in the Philippines.

Hotlink: PokéMobile

Case Study • Chan Su Ling, Jacinth Lum, Lau Su Lin, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2018

Telecoms company Maxis partnered with ride-hailing service Grab to piggy-back on the Pokémon trend to raise awareness of its mobile phone payment service Hotlink Cash Online (HCO) in Malaysia.

Just Eat: The Perfect Night In

Case Study • Poppy Barnes, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2018

Just Eat, the online takeaway ordering platform, used a TV sponsorship to increase awareness and sales in the UK.

Listerine: Bring Out the Bold – Listerine and The Voice

Case Study • Mario Mejia, Laura Murcia, Sandrino Vejar, WARC Media Awards, Bronze, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2018

Mouthwash brand Listerine partnered with TV programme The Voice to reach audiences across Latin America.

EPICA: EPICA in the show 'Tantsy'

Case Study • Natalia Kudryavtseva, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2018

Ehrmann, the food manufacturer, launched a new yoghurt brand, EPICA, in Russia using a partnership with a TV show.