The document discusses key lessons from effective advertising campaigns around the world. It addresses the challenges of gaining attention in today's low-attention economy and strategies that campaigns have used to stand out, such as being creative, borrowing attention through the news or stunts, and being in unexpected places. It also discusses the importance of brand recognition and how marketing science has helped brands balance brand-building and performance goals. The takeaways are that creativity is important to cut through the clutter, PR-driven campaigns are effective, brand assets aid recognition, applying marketing science principles can work, and brands need both brand-building and activation strategies.

1. Lessons from the
world’s best
campaigns

2. 2
What do the
world’s most
effective ads tell
us about…
Effectiveness in a low-
attention economy
The importance of being
recognized
Balancing brand-building and
performance
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4. Effectiveness in a
low-attention economy

5. 5
The problem of attention
• Too much information
• Constant partial attention
• Fragmentation of formats –
the rise of short-form
• Ad ‘bombardment’
• Ad blocking
…but there are plenty of studies
that find a correlation between
attention and sales impact.
5

6. www.warc.com © 2019
6
Four responses in
the Effective 100
2
3
4
1 Be creative, be emotional
Borrow someone else’s attention
Get into the news
Be somewhere unexpected

7. 7
The rise of the ‘stunt’
• Data
7

8. 8
PR-driving cases are becoming more common
8
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
2016 2017 2018
Use of PR value as a soft metric
Effective 100 All WARC cases

9. 9
Being somewhere unexpected
9

10. The importance of
being recognized

11. 11
It’s never been more important to be famous
11
Distinctive brand
assets
Ehrenberg-Bass
The ‘brand room’
Neuro-Insight
Fluent devices
System1

12. 12
12
Direct Line
Proper measurement
of the contribution
of brand equity has
fundamentally
altered the strategic
thinking of the
business.
“

13. 13
Aldi finds a ‘fluent device’
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0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
300%
350%
2015 2016 2017
Profit ROMI (%)

14. Balancing brand-building
with performance

15. 15
Impact of marketing science – Lidl
• Penetration rules - brands grow
by attracting more customers,
loyalty follows
• New customers are drawn from
the whole market, especially the
largest competitors
• Emphasise broad reach media
and invest in 'excess share of
voice' (ESOV)
• A combination of messaging
addressing brand perceptions and
driving direct effects [drives ST
and LT results]
15

16. 16
AA got the brand/performance balance wrong
16

17. 17
Hard-working brands can reduce activation spend
17

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18
5 takeaways
2
3
4
5
1
The low-attention economy
makes creativity more important
Brands are seeking cut-through
with PR-driven campaigns
Brand assets are key for recognition
in low-attention environments
Marketing science is being
applied – and is working
Brand and activation can be tied
together – but you need both
Get in touch
nicola.tillin@warc.com
warc.com/creative100

19. Thank you