Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

What we know about storytelling strategies

Article • WARC Best Practice, February 2020

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

Why brands need a different approach to online communities

News • 18/09/2020

Emerging platforms are creating new dynamics in the way people interact with and influence each other, and consume and distribute content, consequently impacting how brands should approach online communities.

Brands can tap ‘new traditions’

News • 16/09/2020

The phrase ‘new normal’ has quickly become hackneyed and near meaningless, but people’s behaviours have changed and a more productive way of thinking may be around ‘new traditions’.

Fevikwik: Fix it or forfeit it

Case Study • Divya Agarwal, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Adhesive brand Fevikwik used TV, digital and social media to drive behaviour change and increase brand scores on salience, likeability, and brand appeal in India.

Shaadi.com: #WFH – (#WeddingsFromHome)

Case Study • Dheeraj Sinha, Shibani Mitra, Devika Joshi, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Matchmaking website Shaadi.com created an online wedding portal to attract earned media and build brand buzz and engagement during India's COVID-19 lockdown.

SK-II: Meet Me Halfway

Case Study • My Troedsson, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Skincare brand SK-II launched a mini-documentary on social media to boost brand awareness among its target audience in China and spark real social change.

Grab: Personalised Social Impact Reports

Case Study • Krshna Prashant, Sulin Lau, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Mobile technology brand Grab used customer data in a new way to reframe and personalise its social impact activity in Southeast Asia.

Times of India: Out & Proud – India Comes Out of The Closet

Case Study • Saad Khan, Trinolda Colaco, Jason Samuel, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

The Times of India newspaper sparked a nationwide movement to normalise LGBTQ rights with a special Out and Proud classifieds section in India.

The new shape of online communities

Article • Florencia Lujani, WARC Exclusive, September 2020

The way people interact and influence each other online, and the way they consume and distribute content, are bringing new challenges for brands interested in creating communities with business impact.

Target’s in-house agency topples traditional marketing precepts to embrace wider audiences

Article • Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) In-House Agency Conference, August 2020

Target, the retailer, has built an in-house creative shop that is able to take a holistic approach to building its brand strategy.

How to make effective food advertising in the COVID-19 era: insights from Ipsos

Article • Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, Ipsos 2020 Food Industry Summit, August 2020

Research firm Ipsos analyzed the advertising creative that delivered the greatest impact during the COVID-19 pandemic to offer guidance for food brands.

The impact of Coronavirus on customer experience: Lifestyle brands vs customer journey

Article • Euromonitor Strategy Briefings, August 2020

For lifestyle brands, relevance remains critical, but will be more elusive – consumers that spend more of their time at home will socialise differently, need different products, and will engage brands differently.

How B2B brands can ‘Talk Human’

Article • Jill Coomber, WARC Best Practice, August 2020

Provides some practical tips for effective B2B messaging.

From Xena to Carmilla: Engaging LGBTQ consumers with branded content

Article • Brian Carruthers, Event Reports, Lions Live, June 2020

Discusses how brands can engage with people in minority communities by telling good stories through a web series, Carmilla, which proved so popular that it became a movie by Kimberly Clark’s Kotex.

MSD: Nobody Left Outside (NLO)

Case Study • SABRE Awards, In2 EMEA, Best Use of Illustrations + Photography, Gold, 2020

MSD, a pharmaceutical brand, became the voice for marginalised, underserved people in Europe by creating a checklist and support service hub that helps health and social services become more accessible.

Gillette: Father's Day

Case Study • SABRE Awards, In2 EMEA, Best Content Creation for Media Sites (Earned), Gold, 2020

Gillette, a shaving brand, told the stories of men who grew up without fathers in an emotional video on Father's Day to make an impact among men during this key period in the UK.

Roche: Standing still for 7 more years – Raising awareness of the forgotten patients

Case Study • SABRE Awards, In2 EMEA, Best in Brand Animation, Gold, 2020

Roche, a pharmaceutical company, increased awareness of primary progressive multiple sclerosis in Russia by launching an educational website that featured an informative video.

Why storytelling should be the first refuge for Indian brands

News • 06/07/2020

Government slogans such as ‘Make in India’ and ‘Vocal for local’ appeal to patriotic sentiments, but brands ought rather to be focused on telling stories and adding to people’s lives, says an agency figure.

Lighthouse Centre for Wellbeing: unspoken, uae

Case Study • Tahaab Rais, WARC Prize for MENA Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

UAE-based community mental health and wellness clinic the Lighthouse Centre for Wellbeing devised a creative platform that encouraged people struggling with mental health issues to speak up.

Nestlé Fitness: Keep Going

Case Study • Tahaab Rais, Tala Arakji, WARC Prize for MENA Strategy, Entrant, 2020

Cereal bar brand Nestlé Fitness partnered with the perfect candidate to relaunch in a declining category and build relevance with young Lebanese women.

Jif: No More Drama

Case Study • Tala Arakji, Anna Sadykova, WARC Prize for MENA Strategy, Entrant, 2020

Jif took a data-driven dramatic approach to grow sales and increase market share for its multipurpose cleaning spray in the GCC.

Nescafé: University Pride Season 2

Case Study • Dina El Dessouky, Yosr Khalifa, Mustafa Darwish, WARC Prize for MENA Strategy, Entrant, 2020

Instant coffee brand Nescafé 3in1 went back to college to grow popularity in Egypt and narrow the sales gap with the competition.

Dubai Properties: This is Living

Case Study • Tahaab Rais, WARC Prize for MENA Strategy, Entrant, 2020

Dubai luxury real estate brand Madinat Jumeirah Living created captivating character-based content to build awareness and grow sales in a declining real estate category.

Saudi Telecom Company: What are we allowing?

Case Study • Dana Alkutoubi, WARC Prize for MENA Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Saudi telco STC's hard-hitting multi-channel approach showed parents the reality of online threats to their children while greatly increasing uptake of its child-safety app.

WHSmith: Pop Up Books

Case Study • Tahaab Rais, Josephine Younes, Nayaab Rais, WARC Prize for MENA Strategy, Entrant, 2020

Book retailer WHSmith drove sales and footfall through a gamification strategy in the United Arab Emirates.

Storytelling