WARC, the global authority on advertising and media effectiveness, has today released its Effective Social Strategy Report 2018, outlining key social trends from the world’s most effective marketing campaigns.
Drawn from the winners of the Effective Social Strategy category of this year’s international WARC Awards, a global case study competition designed to reward next-generation marketing effectiveness, the report identifies drivers that link the role of social strategy to business success.
WARC’s Lucy Aitken, Managing Editor, Case Studies,says: “We’ve been documenting the evolution of social strategy since 2014. During that time, social has changed in the media mix, from an activity designed to generate conversation, participation, sharing or advocacy to a broadcast medium for online video and, in many instances, a support medium for bigger integrated campaigns that also use TV.
“Social is now firmly established in the media mix, though its ability to connect with communities in highly unique and memorable ways continues to make it distinct.”
Following WARC’s analysis of the metadata of the entries, survey with the entrants and contributions from the esteemed judging panel, chaired by Elizabeth Windram, VP Marketing, JetBlue Airways, four key themes have been identified for an effective social strategy:
- Human connections drive social success
Some of the best performing campaigns saw significant sales increases by appealing to people in a human or humorous way.
Fast-food retailer McDonald’s eased exam stress for students in China, Danish supermarket Fleggaard created comic content that confronted the snobbery around border shopping, airline Jet Blue nudged Americans to take vacations and OTC medication Gas-X tackled a taboo using humour.
All four campaigns saw significant sales jumps off the back of their strategy with McDonald’s in China, which won the Grand Prix, performing extremely well. According to the case study, the campaign exceeded the KPI of a 15% increase for overall sales.
WARC’s Lucy Aitken observes: “Usingan accessible, gently humorousor empathetic tone is entirelyappropriate for social campaigns –as the results for all these campaigns can testify.”
- Social video formats diversity
Video is key to successful social campaigns, with more executions across more platforms, offering greater scope for iteration.
PlayStation’s Play Everything campaign used multiple video touch points to drive awareness and views for the campaign. Meanwhile, British telco BT created 11 different pre-roll adverts on YouTube, and French mineral water brand Hépar created ten videos based on audience’s suggestions.
Judge, Gerard Crichlow, Head of Cultural Strategy at AMV BBDO, says:“Video was an integral part of manyof the best performing social campaignsat this year’s WARC Awards.Effective brands are mirroring the behaviour of modern audiences, who increasingly view and engage with brands on their own terms, when and where they choose.”
- Communities of interest
Many winning brands skill fully used social as a way to connect with particular communities.
Unilever-owned detergent OMO in the UAE helped parents rethink their approach to child-rearing, while Durex’s PR-led campaign in India enabled men to buy contraceptives more freely.
Jury member Chris Herbert, Strategy Director at the 7 stars, points out: “Part of an effective social strategy is not only ensuring that campaigns anticipate what their audience will talk about, but also seamlessly becoming part of the conversation.”
He added: “While the ways we connect with each other have changed, the reasons why we connect haven’t. The messages we share socially are still those which interest us, those which agree with or challenge our beliefs.”
- Built-in discoverability
The year’s Awards spawned a handful of social-by-design campaigns that demonstrated the value of a discoverable idea.
Judge Kristen Fox, Director, Social Media & Digital Analytics, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, comments: “Discoverability is about presenting valuethat is relevant to a consumer, atthe time and place where it is mostrelevant to them. It should also bepresented in the most frictionlessway possible.”
Addict’Aide helped drive awareness of alcoholism by convincingly mimicking an Instagram profile, while @GeoStories by The Geological Survey of Canada History Committee leveraged people’s habit of posting and tagging pictures of places they visit.
Kristen Fox added: “Even when you have media dollars to spend, it’s hard to identify where you need to be. These executions used newsjacking to slingshot content and drive discoverability.”
A sample of WARC’s Effective Social Strategy Report 2018 can be downloaded here. The report in full is available to WARC subscribers and includes chapter analysis with views and opinions from the judges, as well as summaries – objectives, insights, strategies, results and take-outs – of the winning case studies.
Now in their third year, the WARC Awards 2019 will open for entries on 1 November 2018. Free to enter, there is a $40,000 prize fund for the winning papers.
