Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

Article • Euromonitor Strategy Briefings, June 2019

A regional overview of womenswear in Western Europe, with an analysis of key companies and brands and forecast projections for the future of the category.

What’s working in home improvement retail

Article • WARC Category Intelligence, August 2018

Global strategies, campaign updates and trends in the home improvement retail category.

What's working in supermarkets and grocery

Article • WARC Category Intelligence, March 2018

Global strategies, campaign updates and trends in the supermarkets and grocery category.

What's working in department stores

Article • WARC Category Intelligence, March 2018

Global strategies, campaign updates and trends in the department stores sector.

Taco Bell and General Motors use connected cars to understand the impact of radio ads for consumers on the move

Article • Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, ARF AUDIENCEXSCIENCE, September 2020

Taco Bell, the quick-service restaurant chain, partnered with General Motors, the automaker, to better understand the impact of radio advertising on people travelling in cars.

Why Ocado is the UK’s fastest-growing brand

News • 30/09/2020

Online retailer Ocado is the UK’s fastest growing brand according to a new BrandZ report which records a 63% increase in brand value over the past year, reflecting the impact of the pandemic on consumer shopping habits.

The challenges facing grocery marketers in 2021

News • 29/09/2020

Consumer priorities in the grocery category are changing to reflect new realities as the financial implications of pandemic and recession begin to hit; understanding “macro shopper mindsets” can help marketers plan for an uncertain future.

Why McDonald’s is listening differently

Article • Brian Carruthers, Event Reports, DMRXCO @home, September 2020

This article explores some of the steps and techniques that McDonalds and its partners are pursuing in order to understand all groups of consumers.

Luxury brands in Hong Kong must go local

News • 28/09/2020

Luxury brands and fashion retailers in Hong Kong have taken a battering this year as a combination of COVID-19 and political tensions with mainland China have kept high-spending tourists away, but the question is whether they can recoup their ...

How Ocado negotiated lockdown

Article • Brian Carruthers, Event Reports, World Retail Congress, September 2020

This article examines how online grocer Ocado reacted to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.

How Dr Martens designs for shopper behaviour

Article • Sam Peña-Taylor, Event Reports, Market Research Society Behavioural Science Summit, September 2020

The iconic British shoe brand brought behavioural principles into its store design using research from across the world.

Amazon shown restricting rivals’ ads on its service, new investigation finds

News • 24/09/2020

Amazon, the e-commerce and now advertising juggernaut, has been found limiting competitors’ ability to buy ads, in revelations that add to growing pressure on the company over alleged anti-competitive behaviour.

Best Buy reinvents itself (again) to prosper in times of crisis

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

Best Buy, the electronics retailer, adapted at speed to the COVID-19 pandemic, a process driven by an in-house agency team that had built up many of the capabilities needed to meet a crisis.

Hong Kong’s luxury fashion brands see a decline in demand but purchase intent holds steady

Opinion • Ervin Ha, September 2020

YouGov's Ervin Ha looks at how luxury brands have fared in Hong Kong as the ongoing pandemic shifts consumer sentiment and purchase priorities.

Discount grocery giants plan to lure back UK bargain-hunters

News • 23/09/2020

Cut-price grocers Lidl and Aldi, which only sell through brick-and-mortar stores, may have missed out on the boom in e-commerce during the pandemic, but are now planning to increase volumes as consumers go bargain hunting.

Could Amazon become a mall anchor?

News • 22/09/2020

Reports that Amazon is bidding for mall space to use for fulfilment centers hints at one likely evolution of the brick-and-mortar store in the modern shopping journey, from a place to browse to a place for pickup.

Groceries and electronics will drive APAC’s online retail rebound

News • 22/09/2020

Online retail sales will grow from US$1.5 trillion in 2019 to $2.5 trillion in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3%, according to a new forecast by Forrester .

Convenience, inspiration, accountability: Kroger’s three steps for success

Article • Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, Association of National Advertisers Innovative Commerce, August 2020 Conference,

Kroger, the retailer, has drawn on various sources of customer insight as it responds to changing demands during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Competing for ‘eyeballs’ vital in digital commerce

News • 21/09/2020

A battle for “eyeballs” will play a central role in sorting the winners and losers in the evolving digital-commerce marketplace, meaning that brands and retailers need to master personalised messaging at scale.

How to prepare for the next generation of commerce

Article • Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, World Retail Congress, September 2020

The coming “fifth generation” of retail will require members of this category, and the brands that rely on them, to make significant changes to their strategies.

Supermarkets can build on their COVID-19 legacy

Article • Brian Carruthers, Event Reports, MRS FMCG Research Conference , July 2020

This article considers how the role of supermarkets is changing as the UK moves towards a new relationship with the EU and the wider world.

An introduction to Shopify for marketers

Article • Nate Shurilla, WARC Exclusive, September 2020

What advertisers need to know about hosted e-commerce platform builder Shopify.

Zomato: How Zomato won the game before the game

Case Study • Tushar Handa, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Food delivery app Zomato ran a gamified, multi-channel campaign targeting young male cricket fans in India to drive sales, user acquisition, engagement and regional penetration.

McDonald's: Put the 'BIG' back in 'BIG MAC'

Case Study • Sarthak Ranka, Kunal Roy, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

McDonald's Malaysia targeted Gen Z with a social media campaign to reverse the Big Mac's long-term decline by increasing brand love and sales.

UCash & Shwapno: Project AgroBanking

Case Study • Bitop Das Gupta, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Banking brand United Commercial Bank used video, on-ground activity and OOH to launch a platform that enabled farmers in Bangladesh to sell excess produce at a fair rate to retail chain Shwapno.