Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

What we know about storytelling strategies

Article • WARC Best Practice, January 2019

Provides guidance and reading on storytelling strategies, or the fashioning of events into a meaningful, relatable story for customers to identify with and remember.

Olay tackles a deeply-felt issue by telling Chinese women to be 'Fearless of Age'

Case Study • Jenny Chan, Case Studies on WARC, ROI Festival, October 2019

Olay kicked off a social discussion on age-related taboos and judgment facing older women and urged females to instead pursue their dreams without prejudice.

'Unkickable' Timberland boots glorifies the idea of unfinished business

Case Study • Jenny Chan, Case Studies on WARC, ROI Festival, October 2019

Timberland built on the past success of its unusual China marketing campaign to promote its boots among young Chinese consumers, with videos that mostly avoided the faces of wearers in favour of shots of the products, and counter-intuitively stressed that the individuality of the boots increases with age.

Ad stories are for life not just for Christmas

News • 11 December 2019

Christmas advertising in the UK sets the bar for what more brands should be doing year-round, according to Kantar: eight out of ten Christmas ads use a story, as opposed to just four in ten that use stories in the rest of the year.

The secrets of UK Christmas advertising success

Article • Daren Poole, Admap, December 2019

Christmas is the height of the advertising year in many Western markets.

The role of empathy and efficacy in public service announcements: Using narratives to induce bystander intervention in domestic violence

Research Paper • Eunjin (Anna) Kim and Sidharth Muralidharan, Journal of Advertising Research, Digital First, November 2019

This research explores the understudied relationship between two crucial variables—empathy elicited by narratives and the degree of efficacy possessed by bystanders—by using narratives in public service announcements.

Avoiding the ‘data tsunami’: IBM China’s VP of Marketing, Gill Zhou

Opinion • Jenny Chan, November 2019

This interview is part of the Marketer’s Toolkit 2020. Download the summary report here .

Pantene: Blend-In

Case Study • James Barnett, WARC Media Awards, Gold and Platform Pioneer Special Award, Effective Use of Tech, 2019

Hair care brand Pantene reinvented the approach of its Beautiful Lengths programme to build hair donation momentum and reduce barriers to donating hair in Israel.

Gillette: Cultural Connections

Case Study • Gilad Kat, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Best Use of Data, 2019

P&G used a cultural connections model to increase Gillette's relevancy among young adult men.

Uber: Uber Legends

Case Study • Tahaab Rais, Tala Arakji, WARC Media Awards, Silver, Best Use of Data, 2019

Uber championed its top users with Uber Legends, an evocative campaign that tells the real stories of real journeys, to engage users and increase brand love.

Vans: Not Just One Creator

Case Study • Jessica Perrin, WARC Media Awards, Grand Prix and Personalisation Special Award, Best Use of Data, 2019

Vans, the footwear and clothing brand, used influencers to successfully broaden its appeal among teens and young adults in the US, generating revenue and brand awareness.

Toyota: Hilux – You’ll be fine

Case Study • Will Jellicoe, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Tech, 2019

Toyota made savvy media choices to increase awareness and drive consideration of its Hilux model in the UK.

Ford Everest: Carpool Talk

Case Study • Hang Nguyen, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2019

Car-manufacturer Ford used a disruptive content marketing campaign, amplified on social media, to change perceptions of its Everest SUV in Vietnam.

Cornetto: Conefessions

Case Study • Kat Alday, Meryl Yap, Abhishek Gupta, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Tech, 2019

Ice-cream brand Cornetto used programmatic to leverage Valentine's Day and build its brand equity among young consumers in the Philippines.

Tim Hortons: The Away Game

Case Study • WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2019

Tim Hortons, the restaurant chain, leveraged a favourite pastime - hockey - with The Away Game campaign to revive love for the brand in Canada.

Cornetto: Unicornetto

Case Study • Apoorva Shetty, Mukhlis Sholihin, R.K Narayanan, Sarabpreet Bedi, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Best Use of Data, 2019

Ice-cream brand Cornetto ran a targeted mobile campaign to appeal to teens for the launch of its UniCornetto variant in Indonesia.

Hsu Fu Chi: Chinese New Year Memory Train

Case Study • Benjamin Condit, Chaojie Miao, Air Luo, Sienna Zhang, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Tech, 2019

Hsu Fu Chi, the traditional Chinese candy brand, recaptured the waning Chinese New Year food gifting market by using the nostalgic power of music to gain relevance and drive purchase.

Interac: Earning Curve

Case Study • Maxine Thomas, Sean Bell, Heather Segal, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2019

Interac Corp, the payments company, connected with a small business audience in Canada by partnering with Gimlet Media to create the Earning Curve podcast.

Paneton D'Onofrio: Spreading the Christmas spirit

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

Peruvian fruitcake brand Paneton D'Onofrio took a multi-platform approach to transform its Christmas relationship with Peruvians and secure sales growth.

Babyshop: World Without Walls

Case Study • Tahaab Rais, WARC Media Awards, Silver, Effective Channel Integration, 2019

Children's retailer Babyshop used a multichannel approach to redefine its brand strategy during Ramadan in the Middle East.

Al Tayer Motors: Unseen Potential

Case Study • Tahaab Rais, Mario Morby, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Channel Integration, 2019

Car dealership Al Tayer Motors got its staff to create an art project from old car parts to showcase its dedication to service to drive brand preference in the UAE.

Hydro-Québec: ElectrON Expedition

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

Utility company Hydro-Québec used a content strategy in Canada to build a sense of pride among millennials and increase engagement among its employees.

Nivea: Sentuhan Ibu – A Mother’s Touch

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

Skincare brand Nivea developed an integrated campaign to re-establish Nivea Creme as the market leader in Indonesia's all-purpose cream (APC) category.

Shell Advance: Forever Outriders

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

Oil brand Shell used the power of influencers and online content in Vietnam to increase awareness and preference among a young target audience.

Dove: Be Free, Always

Case Study • Jamie Wang, Ha Mai Thu, Ha Tran, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Channel Integration, 2019

Dove increased sales of its bio-nourishing shampoo range in Vietnam with a campaign focused on unleashing a woman's bold and self-assured spirit.

Storytelling