Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

Article • WARC Best Practice, April 2020

Current reading and thinking on the topic of segmentation; a crucial element of marketing, segmentation identifies relevant consumer subgroups, focusing and directing communication strategy.

How to use segmentation effectively

Article • Merry Baskin & Laurie Young, WARC Best Practice, July 2016

This paper provides an overview of segmentation and the way in which it is used to identify groups of potential customers who are clustered around common, identifiable traits, and to understand how they may best be reached and how they will respond to different messages and appeals.

Four lessons from the 2008 recession and a 2020 twist

Article • Brian Carruthers, Event Reports, Back to Business, September 2020

This article examines actions taken by UK marketers during the 2008 recession that are equally applicable in 2020.

Lexus: Find Your Unbeaten Path

Case Study • Terence Ling, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2020

Luxury vehicle brand Lexus ran a data-driven campaign for its UX crossover SUV that used personalised test drives to engage adventurous urbanites in Hong Kong.

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.

Four Food-Shopper Mindsets that Should Shape Brand Planning in 2021

Article • Callum Saunders, WARC Exclusive, September 2020

Grocery shopping mindsets are changing as a result of the pandemic and it will be vital for brands to embrace new behaviours to capitalise on throughout 2021.

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.

Why do people choose to multitask with media? The dimensions of polychronicity as drivers of multiple media use—a user typology

Research Paper • Helen R. Robinson and Stavros P. Kalafatis, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 60, No. 3, 2020, pp. 251-270

This article examines selected drivers of multiple media use, to investigate why individuals choose to multitask with media.

Understanding Thailand’s post-pandemic personas

News • 09/09/2020

Consumer behaviour changes in times of distress as people shift their priorities; new research identifies 11 ‘crisis personas’ in Thailand who are adapting to the new normal.

Getting to know urban Thailand’s new post-pandemic personas

Article • Suppakit Limboonsong, WARC Exclusive, Spotlight Thailand, September 2020

The economic impact of the pandemic will be heavy, but the Thais are resilient people, adept to change in creative ways, with opportunities for brands to thrive.

Fashion consumers’ channel-hopping profiles by psychographics and demographics

Article • Stacy H. Lee and Sojin Jung, International Journal of Market Research, Vol. 63, No. 5, 2020, pp. 615-632

Omni-channel retailing has created different shopping paradigms, such as channel hopping, to meet diverse consumer expectations through various channels.

Understanding the generational differences in how Thailand’s consumers live in the “new normal”

Article • Chalinee Hirano, WARC Exclusive, Spotlight Thailand, September 2020

New research from Far East Fame Line DDB breaks down how Thai consumers have adapted post-lockdown and outlines the differences across generations.

COVID-19 and race: Protecting data or saving lives?

Article • Richard Webber, International Journal of Market Research, Vol. 63, No. 5, 2020, pp. 528-537

This article uses the COVID-19 pandemic to demonstrate how our understanding of ethnic inequalities could be improved by greater use of algorithms that infer ethnic heritage from people's names.

How to create a value proposition for food brands during a pandemic and recession

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

Research firm Ipsos has built out a way to construct meaningful value propositions at a time of disruption in normal business patterns.

Personalisation after COVID-19

Article • Research on WARC, August 2020

Examines the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on e-commerce companies and their website personalisation strategies.

iMedia Brands taps health and wellness opportunity

News • 27/08/2020

Health and wellness represents a potential white space for many media companies, and iMedia Brands is seeking to leverage this burgeoning area of consumer interest with a new home-shopping network under its ShopHQ brand.

UK subcultures are alive and well

News • 21/08/2020

Gaming and non-mainstream religious groups are the two leading subcultures in the UK today, according to research which highlights the value to marketers of tapping into niche cultural groups.

iMedia Brands mixes demographics and psychographics to drive home-shopping growth

Article • Stephen Whiteside, WARC Exclusive, August 2020

iMedia Brands, the owner of the ShopHQ home-shopping network, is seeking to reach new audiences with channels targeted at particular niches.

Marketers should rethink assumptions about recession-hit shoppers

News • 20/08/2020

Marketers seeking to reach cash-strapped consumers in the recession may need to broaden their assumptions about which segments they should target.

Can psychographic targeting techniques be used ethically?

Article • Brian Carruthers, WARC Exclusive, Nudgestock, June 2020

Patrick Fagan, former lead psychologist at Cambridge Analytica, ponders the ethical dimensions of psychographic targeting.

Age group determines Singapore’s consumer approach to wellness

News • 30/07/2020

Singapore's healthcare market is poised grow to $29.8 billion in 2020, and more than double to $68.7 billion by 2029 according to market insights firm, Fitch Solutions.

How to succeed in Singapore’s wellness market

Article • Havas and Ogury, Research on WARC, July 2020

The strategies and technologies you need to connect with wellness consumers.

Mastercard: Start More First Times

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

Financial services corporation Mastercard boosted transactions and brand visibility through a content series in the United Arab Emirates.

Nissan Patrol: Conquer Everywhere

Case Study • Garrett Olexiuk, Bhaskar Bateja, Remie Abdo, WARC Prize for MENA Strategy, Bronze and Research Excellence Award, 2020

Car manufacturer Nissan Middle East used a multichannel, personalised data-driven strategy to relaunch its Patrol marque in the United Arab Emirates.

Nissan Altima: Bio-Colour

Case Study • Garrett Olexiuk, Bhaskar Bateja, Remie Abdo, WARC Prize for MENA Strategy, Entrant, 2020

Car manufacturer Nissan Middle East attracted younger buyers to its Altima marque by giving them an opportunity to personalise their car colour based on their DNA, improving the brand's tech credentials and boosting sales in the United Arab Emirates.

Segmenting consumers