LONDON, Dec 10, 2019 - (ACN Newswire) - WARC, the global authority on advertising and media effectiveness, has today released the Effective Content Strategy Report, outlining key trends and lessons in branded content strategies for advertisers, agencies and media owners, following an analysis of some of the world's most effective campaigns.

Drawn from jury discussions and metadata of the shortlisted and winning entries of the Effective Content Strategy category of this year's WARC Awards - a global search for next-generation marketing effectiveness - the report identifies three main content strategy themes that helped brands achieve business goals.

Lucy Aitken, Managing Editor, Case Studies, WARC, comments: "We've analysed the successful case studies to uncover the most important insights that marketers and their agencies can draw on to help plan their future content strategies."

WARC's Effective Content Strategy Report highlights three key themes:

- Content needs to build audiences in the long term

Content needs to be a long-term play to attract and maintain audience attention. Mars-owned cat-care brand Whiskas, Lebanese telco Connect and Orange in Tunisia all enjoyed their second WARC Award for Effective Content Strategy in 2019 thanks to a long-term content strategy that is resonating with people and paying dividends for the brand.

Cecile Angrand, Global Brand Director, Whiskas and Diana Lopes, Strategy Director, AMV BBDO concur that: "Content should be seen as a long-term investment for brands... [it's] a continuous process of building sustained attention for your brand. It's not about reaching an audience, but about building one."

- Younger audiences use branded content for self-expression

Younger audiences will make time for the right kind of branded content, and this was seen in winning campaigns such as Nescafes Egyptian campaign targeting university students, or Dunelm's advertiser-funded programming push in the United Kingdom that used a dating show format.

Thas Naseemuddeen, Chief Executive Officer and Riley Strand, Senior Strategist of independent creative agency Omelet, point out: "The intrinsic value of a product is less about what it says on the box and more about what it empowers you to say about yourself."

They add: "Younger audiences are growing and shaping perspectives; they're looking for friends, for romance, for purpose. They do that by expressing themselves through creation and communication, and brands can enable or improve their ability to do that."

- Real-world components help make content distinctive

A tangible part of a campaign - for instance, Panini Cards for Coca-Cola Egypt, Coffee Corners for Nescafe Dolce Gusto in MENA or Grand Prix-winning Trash Isles for Plastic Oceans International - can bring to life a content strategy.

Jury member Iuren Ramiro, Planning Manager, Santa Clara, comments: "Content can play a key role in making [...] experiences more meaningful. However, brands need to be careful not to make digital their main or only piece of content strategy. 'Things' can also be an incredibly valuable way to connect brands with people, having the advantage of seamlessly becoming a part of their conversation."

Summing up, Namita Mediratta, Global CMI Director, Content Centre of Excellence, Unilever and chair of the 2020 WARC Awards' Effective Content Strategy jury, says: "As advertising moves towards a value-exchange model from a predominantly interruption-driven mindset, the role of content (as distinct from advertising) becomes much more important. There is a crying need for content that people want to engage with, participate in and contribute to."

A sample of the Effective Content Strategy Report, Lessons from the 2019 WARC Awards, can be downloaded from lp.warc.com/warc_effective_content_report_warc_awards_sample.html. The report in full is available to WARC subscribers on warc.com and includes in-depth chapter analysis with views and opinions from the judges; what the trends mean from advertisers, agencies and media owners; data analysis and summaries - objectives, insights, strategies and results - of the winning case studies.

The 2020 WARC Awards are now open for submissions. Free to enter, there is a $40,000 prize fund for the winning papers. View on https://www.warc.com/warcawards.prize for more information.

About WARC

- advertising evidence, insights and best practice

WARC provides the latest evidence, expertise and guidance to make marketers more effective. WARC's mission is to save the world from ineffective marketing.

WARC's clients include the world's largest brands, advertising and media agencies, media owners, research companies and universities. They rely on WARC for rigorous, unbiased information and advice on almost any advertising and marketing issue, which WARC delivers via best practice guides, case studies, research papers, special reports and advertising trend data, as well as via webinars, awards, events and advisory services.

WARC collaborates with more than 50 respected industry organisations globally including: The Advertising Research Foundation, Cannes Lions, Effie Worldwide, Association of National Advertisers, ESOMAR, 4A's, IPA and DMA.

WARC was founded in 1985, and has offices in the UK, US and Singapore. In July 2018, WARC became part of Ascential plc, the global specialist information company.

Contact:Amanda Benfell
Head of PR & Press
+44 20 7467 8125
amanda.benfell@warc.com

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