Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

Article • WARC Best Practice, April 2020

Explores how online communities have emerged as an alternative to online panel research, being an effective way of interacting with and sourcing customer insight.

What we know about social listening and real time research

Article • WARC Best Practice, December 2019

Summarises knowledge and offers guidance and reading on social listening and real time research, the process of gathering data from audience conversations across social media platforms and processing into structured insights.

What we know about mobile research

Article • WARC Best Practice, December 2019

This paper summarises knowledge and offers guidance and reading on mobile research, encompassing both the methodological use of mobile devices and technologies in the research process, and the research of consumer mobile habits.

How to gain insight from social listening

Article • Will McInnes, WARC Best Practice, July 2017

This article provides a best practice guide to social media listening – the process of capturing mentions of brands on the internet – and how marketers can better understand and respond to their audiences’ feelings and sentiments.

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.

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.

Singtel: Only True Fans Get It

Case Study • Amanda Lim, Jacob Wright, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Telco Singtel took to trolling to boost take-up of its services in Singapore.

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.

McDonald's: The Surprise Chicken Expert

Case Study • Garron Chiu, Peter Rodenbeck, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Quick service restaurant brand McDonald's coupled the element of surprise with a smart multimedia strategy to drive mass awareness and trial in Hong Kong.

How do generational differences drive response to social-issue ads? The effect of value orientations across generations in the U.S.

Research Paper • Yoon-Joo Lee and Eric Haley, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 60, No. 3, 2020, pp. 271-289

This study investigated the effects of consumers' underlying value orientations to determine whether consumers respond differently to corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives depending on age.

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.

Anatomy of a successful online game

Article • Riley Strand, WARC Exclusive, September 2020

How games like Animal Crossing and Call Of Duty are breaking through with mainstream players.

Marketing to gamers: Four lessons when targeting gaming audiences

Article • Mike Carlucci, WARC Exclusive, September 2020

A report by Kantar into how brands should behave when marketing to gamers.

#playaparttogether: The gaming industry before and after COVID-19

Article • Eduardo Mena, WARC Exclusive, September 2020

Research by Ipsos MORI into changing online gaming behaviour in the UK.

How long do respondents think online surveys should be? New evidence from two online panels in Germany

Article • Melanie Revilla and Jan Karem Höhne, International Journal of Market Research, Vol. 63, No. 5, 2020, pp. 538-545

In recent years, the number of surveys, especially online surveys, has increased dramatically. Due to the absence of interviewers in this survey mode (who can motivate the respondents to continue answering), some researchers and practitioners argue that online surveys should not be longer than 20 min.

Chipotle’s recipe for adapting at speed to cultural moments and COVID-19

Article • Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, ANA Digital and Social Media Conference, July 2020

Chipotle, the fast-casual restaurant chain, has relied on a dynamic marketing culture as it adapts to the challenges of COVID-19 and broader societal shifts in the US.

Netnography as a marketing research tool in the fashion industry in Southeast Europe

Article • Natyra Xharavina, Alexandros Kapoulas, and George Miaoulis, Jr., International Journal of Market Research, Vol. 63, No. 4, 2020, pp. 499-515

In the past decades, marketing has been revolutionized by digital sources, which provide marketers with rich information on potential consumers.

Informed consent for paradata use in web surveys

Article • Tanja Kunz, Camille Landesvatter, and Tobias Gummer, International Journal of Market Research, Vol. 63, No. 4, 2020, pp. 396-408

Paradata are a valuable source of information to better understand the response process and to determine how the data collection processes can be improved.

Five Google Search trends shaping post-COVID-19 life

Opinion • Marcos Angelides, July 2020

Entering quarantine was the mother of all milestones. It marked the end of the old and the start of something entirely new.

How M.A.C Cosmetics pivoted physical retail to e-commerce during COVID-19

Article • Anna Hamill, WARC Exclusive, July 2020

M.A.C Cosmetics, a leading global beauty brand, pivoted into e-commerce and digital brand experiences as COVID-19 shut down its physical retail stores.

National Index of Anxieties: New tool for public opinion & sentiment monitoring

Case Study • SABRE Awards, In2 EMEA, PR Agency Marketing, Silver, 2020

CROS, an agency, released its first expert product for the general public, the National Index of Anxieties, to confirm its expertise in analytics and research in Russia.

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.

Equinor: How Equinor will face the climate challenges

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

Equinor, a Petroleum refining company, built a podcast series that educated the Norwegian public on climate change to engage young people.

Virtual product tours have positive impact on consumers

News • 17/07/2020

Marketers for tourist destinations as well as for complex goods and services can gain various benefits from providing 360-degree virtual tours to consumers, according to a study published in the Journal of Advertising Research (JAR).

What's working in social

Article • WARC Category Intelligence, July 2020

Global strategies, campaign updates and trends in social.

Online & mobile research