Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

What we know about consumer decision making

Article • WARC Best Practice, October 2019

Looks at the processes through which people make decisions, often sub-conscious, instinctive and driven by bias, and how to work with these processes effectively.

What we know about behavioural economics

Article • WARC Best Practice, September 2019

This article provides marketers with information and guidance about using behavioural economics (BE) to inform marketing strategies.

What we know about gamification as a research method

Article • WARC Best Practice, May 2019

This article explores the reading around gamification as a research method, the attempt to make surveys and questionnaires more engaging, enhancing both the experience and ideally the quality of data.

How to use behavioural science to build new habits

Article • Crawford Hollingworth and Liz Barker, WARC Best Practice, June 2017

This article explains the lessons from behavioural science about the formation of habits and lists six strategies that marketers can employ to build, maintain and disrupt consumer habits.

Identifying consumer tensions to drive growth

Opinion • Tim Denyer, Emma Ramsay and Mark Murray Jones, June 2020

The gap between situational change and reality creates tension. Brands that respond to these tensions stand the best chance of successfully navigating COVID-19 and the oncoming recession.

Life in the blender: Exploring the human reality of COVID-19

Article • Potluck, Research on WARC, May 2020

An investigation into the human impact of the COVID-19 crisis, capturing the more emotional side of the current situation.

A portrait of the COVID-19 crisis as Filipino

Article • AdSpark, Research on WARC, May 2020

A deep dive into how the Filipino identity is seen through, and shaped by, the COVID-19 pandemic.

How can India’s brands leverage behavioural science to drive salience during the COVID-19 recovery phase?

Article • Prerna Katyal, WARC Best Practice, May 2020

HCL Enterprise’s Prerna Katyal outlines how brands can leverage behavioural science concepts to predict and adapt to the changing consumer situation as markets move to a COVID-19 recovery phase? COVID-19 pushed consumers down in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to the ‘Safety’ level.

Connecting with the personas of the new normal

Opinion • Sam Robson, May 2020

Lockdown has changed the daily routines and behaviours of many, if not most, people. Marketers need to update their personas accordingly, says Sam Robson.

Tobaccowala believes “human” skills are critical to COVID-19 recovery

Opinion • Geoffrey Precourt, May 2020

Marketers need to remember the human touch and not solely rely on data as they build brands and respond to COVID-19 alike, according to Rishad Tobaccowala, a senior adviser to Publicis Groupe.

Harris Poll tracks how consumer desires are rapidly changing as the recovery slowly unfolds

Opinion • Cathy Taylor, May 2020

Consumers in the US display a mix of eagerness and caution about returning to various pre-lockdown behaviors, according to research from The Harris Poll.

Reassessing the eight motivators of purchase in the context of COVID-19

Article • Prasad Shinde, Steven Naert and Tammy Ho, WARC Best Practice, May 2020

Ipsos outlines how the eight motivators of purchase should be adapted to the current COVID-10 context.

In-car radio and FMCG purchase intent

News • 20 May 2020

Radio ads heard in the car on the way to the supermarket have a significant effect on purchasing intentions, according to new research on FMCG advertising.

Ramadan during COVID-19: Your playbook to the emerging personas during the festive season

Article • ADA, Research on WARC, May 2020

Looks at the different experiences muslims will have during Ramadan this year as they celebrate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

How health and wellbeing brands can grow during COVID-19

Article • Richard McAleavy, WARC Exclusive, May 2020

With consumers more concerned about cleanliness during COVID-19, health and wellbeing brands are well positioned to benefit.

WARC from Home: Neuroscience – What it is and how it helps evaluate marketing effectiveness

Opinion • WARC from Home, May 2020

WARC from Home is a new series to help subscribers brush up on the essentials of marketing during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Ten ways Ramadan is different this year: Insights from Indonesia

Opinion • Anish Daryani, May 2020

M&C Saatchi's Anish Daryani outlines how the month of Ramadan has changed this year and offers some key behavioural insights to help brands navigate.

More than trading down: How consumers really shop and buy during a recession

Article • J. Walker Smith, WARC Exclusive, May 2020

Explains that the idea that all consumers trade down during recessions is overly simplistic.

Are behaviours really changing because of lockdown?

News • 07 May 2020

Marketers are readying themselves for a post-pandemic world in which consumer behaviours have changed, but they should consider not just what those behaviours are but why they have emerged so quickly.

Reframing lifestyle marketing for three post-pandemic ‘new normal’ scenarios

Article • Lewis Lim and Charlene Chen, WARC COVID-19 Series, May 2020

New lifestyles that emerge post-pandemic, will require consumer brands to adopt different strategies to re-engage with consumers.

The psychology of lockdown: Navigating uncertainty

Article • Dr Cristina de Balanzo PhD, WARC COVID-19 Series, May 2020

Dr Cristina de Balanzo, of human understanding agency Walnut Unlimited, offers a psychological assessment of the state of the nation during lockdown.

The social-emotional drivers to purchase decisions in COVID-19

News • 06 May 2020

Brands can create more effective advertising by understanding the motivations behind people’s purchase decisions and how they have changed under COVID-19, according to exclusive new research from Decode.

It’s game on in India, but where are the consumer brands?

Opinion • Kunal Sinha, May 2020

Gaming has seen an incredible upswing in usage as India continues its COVID-19 lockdown measures, but why aren't consumer brands embracing this interactive medium to engage with audiences, asks Kunal Sinha.

We’re only human after all: Using Behavioural Science to make sense of the wide spectrum of responses to COVID-19

Article • Crawford Hollingworth and Liz Barker, WARC COVID-19 Series, April 2020

COVID-19 is not only a huge disruption across the world, but it is also disrupting our brains, and behavioural science can help make sense of this disruption.

Cautious consumers won’t return to normal anytime soon

News • 01 May 2020

Lockdowns and restrictions that were imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic are beginning to ease in some countries, but there is little sign there will be a quick return to normality, according to a new global study into consumer intentions.

Behavioural insight