The WARC 100 is more than applause for the creators of the world’s most effective campaigns. It contains insights about the creative, media and measurement strategies that change behaviour.
WARC is able to collect these insights because it publishes hundreds of effectiveness and strategy case studies from all over the world. It’s the world’s largest database of marketing ideas that work.
WARC has released its Lessons from the world’s top effectiveness campaigns. There are four that stand out:
1. Effective campaigns increasingly have PR ‘baked in’
More and more campaigns that make it into the WARC 100 are using more and more PR in their strategies. This reflects the rise of creative ideas built to gain press coverage and other earned media. Several ideas at the top of the ranking centre around a highly PR-able stunt or concept, like Clemenger BBDO Melbourne’s Meet Graham for Transport Accident Commission, that can generate content across channels and media.
“In a highly cluttered advertising environment, it could be argued, creative platforms need to work increasingly hard to maximise earned as well as paid media, and having highly PR-able idea is one way to achieve this,” WARC noted in its report.
2. TV-led and video-led – two different models
This year, there is a very clear dominance of video – both online and TV – in the winning campaigns. Analysis of campaigns led by TV and campaigns led by online video show that video is key to emotional creative strategies. Budgets tend to be higher for TV-led campaigns, and the media mix differs between the two groups as a result. Although social media is the most common support channel regardless of lead media, OOH and print are more commonly present in the mix of TV-led campaigns, with word-of-mouth and PR supporting a higher proportion of online video-led strategies.
“TV-led campaigns are also more likely to drive a sales impact, and tend to be less reliant on social measures,” WARC added.
3. The use of partnerships is on the rise
Over the past two years, the use of partnerships as a creative strategy has increased in WARC 100 campaigns. Using the reach or credibility of partner organisations was an effective strategy for four of the top 10 campaigns this year, with both expected and unusual partnerships seeing success. The use of partnerships was seen across the whole WARC 100, but was particularly prevalent in campaigns targeting millennials, like Burger King’s The McWhopper Proposal by Y&R Auckland, DAVID Miami, Code and Theory San Francisco.
“Often there is relevance or a link between successful partnerships, but unexpected partnerships can also have a big impact. The link between the Art Institute of Chicago and Airbnb [Van Gogh BnB by Leo Burnett,Arc Worldwide Chicago, Spark Foundry Chicago and Starcom Chicago] is not obvious, but generated huge publicity and far exceeded its targets in terms of increased memberships and visitors,” WARC added.
4. Purpose is effective when brands have a credible role
Purpose-led campaigns are a longstanding presence at the top of the WARC 100 rankings. This shows that purpose, when done well, can be highly effective. Three purpose-driven campaigns appear in the top 10 this year – Whirlpool’s Care Counts by DigitasLBi Chicago / Ketchum Chicago, Imagine the Possibilities for Barbie by BBDO San Francisco, BBDO New York & Starcom Chicago, and Dads #ShareTheLoad for Ariel. Two of these campaigns, Dads #ShareThe Load and Care Counts found a purpose for which their product could help. The Barbie campaign went back into the brand’s history to find a credible role that the product could take for modern parents.
“Note that none of these is purpose for purpose’s sake,” WARC stated.
5. Brands are looking for multi-year platforms
Long-term ideas are a growing feature of the WARC 100 as brands look to squeeze more out of their platforms. The continuing presence of the John Lewis Christmas campaigns in the WARC 100 exemplifies the success of long-term campaigns. John Lewis has turned the Christmas period into an advertising event, which drives huge amounts of publicity, engagement and ultimately return on the company’s investment every year. Two other top 10 campaigns, Ariel’s Dads #ShareTheLoad by BBDO Mumbai and Mediacom Mumbai and Snickers Hungerithm by Clemenger BBDO Melbourne and Mediacom Melbourne, campaigns, have reworked or evolved ongoing campaign themes with success over the past year, using the power of association to grow and reinforce the memory’s perception of brands over time.
“There are now multiple ways to extend big ideas both tactically and locally. For example, Snickers Hungerithm used the You’re Not You When You’re Hungry theme to execute a regional campaign in Australia with a different creative strategy and objectives to the original film-led campaign,” WARC noted.
View the WARC 100 here.