Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

Article • WARC Best Practice, February 2019

Looks at how women's roles in society have changed and continue to evolve, meaning brands have had to adopt how they engage this audience, by promoting female empowerment, removing gender bias and ensuring women are part of the client and agency teams.

How a gender strategy can improve your marketing

Article • Amy Fridlund, WARC Best Practice, November 2017

Provides advice for marketers on how to better meet the needs of different genders and highlights the potential problems for brands with gender issues.

How to market effectively to women

Article • Sue Unerman, WARC Best Practice, June 2017

This article offers six best practice ideas to help marketers better target the huge and diverse demographic of women, who today make between 70% and 80% of all purchases worldwide.

The new normal: Rethinking marketing to women

Article • Jane Cunningham, Philippa Roberts and Vicky Cook, WARC Exclusive, January 2020

After femvertising, #unstereotype and ASA rulings, what next for marketing to women?

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.

Time to end out-of-date rural marketing conventions

News • 20 December 2019

Many of the conventions of rural marketing in India are well past their expiry date, according to two agency strategy executives, who argue that that it’s time to retire these and connect more richly with the emerging rural Indian consumer.

‘Keep kissing, we can win!’ MAC Cosmetics game-themed lipsticks turn consumers into would-be Chinese heroines

Article • Jenny Chan, Case Studies on WARC, October 2019

MAC (魅可) revised its brand appeal in the China market in an exemplary cross-industry collaboration example by simultaneously tying in with a Tencent-owned game and using celebrity pull to draw in young consumers.

Bharat Rising: Reconnecting with the soul of India

Article • Amit Tiwari, WARC Exclusive, December 2019

This ethnographic study on rural India was based on qualitative research – structured interactions with 130 customers, retailers and influencers – across 32 towns in 16 states, covering all 4 regions (North, East, West, South) in India.

Rewriting the sacred tenets of rural marketing in India

Article • Bianca Joseph and Krishnan Subramanian, WARC Exclusive, December 2019

Outlines the rules for marketers that wish to connect with rural Indian consumers.

African-American women help drive Ford’s growth

News • 03 December 2019

Ford, the automaker, is seeking to authentically engage with Black women, an audience that is a major source of growth for vehicles like its pick-up trucks.

#ShowUs for Dove

Case Study • MRS Awards, Finalist, MRS Award for International Research, 2019

Dove, a personal care brand owned by Unilever, launched Project #ShowUs in the UK, a free-to-access database of over 5000 images, offering an inclusive vision of beauty to media and advertisers which was informed by collected data.

How Ford found an audience of female African-American pick-up truck enthusiasts

Article • Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference, November 2019

Ford, the auto marque, has identified a valuable opportunity in connecting with Black women, who are helping fuel growth for the company.

Dove drives change in beauty ads with 'Project #ShowUs'

News • 21 November 2019

Dove, the beauty brand owned by Unilever, successfully extended its “Campaign for Real Beauty” directly into the media and advertising space through creating a library of stock images that is truly representative of all women.

Dove’s “Project #ShowUs” drives change in beauty depictions across ads and media

Article • Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, 4A's Strategy Festival, October 2019

Dove, the beauty line, used its “Project #ShowUs” campaign to provide stock images that embrace female beauty in all its forms.

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.

Danner: United Against Abuse

Case Study • James Barnett, WARC Media Awards, Bronze, Effective Use of Tech, 2019

Danner, a women's refuge in Denmark, worked with influencers on social to raise awareness of domestic violence and encourage sufferers to get in touch.

Lifebuoy: Real-Time Infection Alert System

Case Study • Thuy Tran, Soumya Ranjan Panda, Linh Ngo, WARC Media Awards, Bronze, Best Use of Data, 2019

Soap brand Lifebuoy created a real-time, and hyper-customised, infection alert system targeting mums, to build relevance and drive penetration in Vietnam.

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.

Neutrogena: A moisturizer for those who never stop

Case Study • Agustina Saggese, Alita Pereyra, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Best Use of Data, 2019

Skincare brand Neutrogena used an innovative programmatic campaign to drive awareness and trial of its new Hydro Boost product in Argentina.

Sunsilk: Tap Tap Game

Case Study • Tricia Cruz, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Tech, 2019

Sunsilk, one of Unilever's top-selling hair care products in the Philippines, wanted to amplify its marketing efforts with the primary objective of sustaining brand love among 'Sunsilk girls'.

OMO: Express it, don't text it

Case Study • Uyen Nguyen Diep, Soumya Ranjan Panda, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Best Use of Data, 2019

Laundry brand Omo launched a one-day, data-driven digital and social execution to build relevance for a new product variant on Mother's Day in Vietnam.

Puck: Save the Cows

Case Study • Tahaab Rais, Anna Sadykova, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2019

Food brand Puck's Blue Jar Cheese used a gamification strategy delivered through Snapchat to appeal to kids and mums and fight off other breakfast alternatives in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

P/S: The AI Dentist

Case Study • Anish Appukuttan, Hang Tong, Sang Lam, Soumya Ranjan Panda, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Tech, 2019

Toothpaste brand P/S created an 'AI Dentist' that used facial- and tooth-recognition features on mobile to promote its whitening credentials and boost sales among beauty conscious women in Vietnam.

TRESemmé: Online to offline success

Case Study • Tricia Cruz, Kitty Faustino, Abhishek Gupta, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Best Use of Data, 2019

Hair care brand TRESemmé used polygon mapping and rich-media programmatic to target fashion- and beauty-driven millennial women and launch its Detox and Nourish range in the Philippines.

ŠKODA UK: #ThisIsOurTime

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

Volkswagen-owned auto brand ŠKODA leveraged its cycling heritage and sponsorship of the Tour de France to provoke conversations about gender inequality in the sport.

Women