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COMPANIES
&
CAMPAIGNS

WARC’s summary of trends and themes for

effective media strategies

WARC, the global authority on advertising and media firmly rooted in commercial objectives. Data is key to
effectiveness, has released the Media Strategy Report encouraging behaviour change.
2020, highlighting key trends and themes for an
effective media strategy. The insights are drawn from Among this year’s winners were three stand-out uses of
the winners of the WARC Media Awards 2019, AI: a wicket predictor that enhanced the viewing
following an analysis of the shortlisted and winning experience of cricket fans in Australia, a hands-free
entries across the four categories – Effective Channel smart speaker to help new parents in China and a
Integration, Effective Use of Tech, Effective Use of video-insertion tool to embed ads within a popular
Partnerships and Sponsorships, and Best Use of Data Hong Kong sitcom.
– the key insights are:
3. Brands are exploring innovative angles and
1.Influencers are becoming a more trusted approaches when leveraging passion points
component in the media mix. such as sport and music.

Brands are turning to micro influencers in particular, Audiences are receptive to original ways that brands
combining their followers to achieve further reach. The choose to engage with them. Connecting with people
collective clout of credible influencers and what they through their passion points can be a useful way to hit
can bring to the mix is increasing: brands are expected the right target audience at a time when they are
to spend $10bn globally on influencer marketing in already highly engaged.
2020, according to Mediakix. What’s more, as many
people across the globe are now based entirely at Yet effectiveness remains a tricky area. Sport is a
home, there’s been the emergence of what the popular passion point, though many marketers admit to
Financial Times has dubbed the ‘lockdown celebrity’, being uncertain about its effectiveness: $666bn is
influencers in relevant areas such as fitness, education invested annually in sports sponsorship, yet in a recent
and food preparation. Kantar study, 44% of marketers admitted that it was
one of their least understood channels in terms of ROI.
2. AI is being deployed in different ways that
show off its range and flexibility. Other areas which were popular among the winning
papers included gaming, cycling and running. This
Artificial Intelligence has progressed beyond being a year, of course, sponsorship will also bear huge losses
bolt-on or a gimmick designed to generate PR, and because of COVID-19.
instead is at the core of transformational ideas that are

April 2020: Social Commerce & Influencer Marketing: social shopping as the future of commerce 38