WARC, the global authority on advertising and media effectiveness, released its 2018 Media Strategy Report, highlighting key trends in media strategy with lessons drawn from the winners of the global WARC Media Awards, recognising communications planning which has made a positive impact on business results.
WARC’s 2018 Media Strategy Report highlights the following key insights and marketing trends in media:
Integration spawns innovation: There is a huge scope for innovation within integrated campaigns where each channel not only plays to its strengths but reinforces the roles of other channels. Earned media saw many more models of integration in the 2017 Awards, with social media and online video being the most relied upon supporting media for integrated campaigns, and television remaining the most popular lead media. This backs up research by WARC and consultant Peter Field identifying social as an amplifier in the media mix.
Data: programmatic and personalisation: Programmatic has evolved from an efficiency buy into a more sophisticated method of delivering either personalised or highly relevant marketing. Fast becoming the new normal, programmatic is helping to steer more detailed targeting.
Partnerships: content and celebrity drive success: For effective partnerships and sponsorships, the onus is squarely on high-quality, hard-working content that meets the objectives of both parties involved. Celebrity remains the preferred creative strategy among partnerships and sponsorships, with high-profile celebrity partnerships ensuring that brands stand out.
Tech: building emotional equity: Fewer campaigns than in the 2016 Awards could be accused of using tech for tech’s sake, with more thought going into what could be achieved. This helped to establish an effective use of tech as a tool to help brands achieve both commercial and purposeful objectives.
The 2018 Media Strategy Report in full is available to WARC subscribers on warc.com. The report includes chapter analysis for each of the four entries categories and summaries of all the winning case studies from the 2017 WARC Media Awards.
