The three ingredients for advertising effectiveness in Europe: relevance, culture and media

The combination of careful strategic planning, the exploitation of unexpected insights and meticulous measurement is what is driving business transformation and is the main force behind marketing effectiveness in Europe. This concludes it warc after analyzing the 38 campaigns that have been part of the shortlists or have been awarded bronze, silver or gold in the awards granted by the consultancy itself.

It has compiled the findings in a report that brings together the marketing topics and trends that have had an impact on the region in recent years. It highlights, among other things, that European campaigns were more likely to use emotion as a creative strategy than other regions and that 60% focused on Brand building as a goal. He also notes that one in four campaigns used television and connected TV as the primary medium, and more than half of campaigns used social media and online video in the media mix.

The report includes learnings and results from campaigns in 17 countries and brands from various sectors, such as finance or restaurants, and both local and global in scope. From Warc they point out that the common trait among the winners is the definition of some clear objectives from the beginning, which have been the common thread from the ideas and strategy to the results.

Below we break down the insights extracted from the European campaigns recognized by Warc:

A new relevance

The consulting firm considers that the award-winning campaigns have been able to find a new relevance, often using codes from other categories and applying them to connect with new audiences. This has facilitated new approaches that have allowed us to enter the cultural conversation and, consequently, boost sales.

As an example of this, Warc highlights the campaign “Unfollow Self:Hate”, with which ING Romanía took self-hatred as a cause of consumption and offered advice to tackle it. It also highlights the case of Vanish, gold winner in the United Kingdom, and its campaign “Me, my autism & I” yesdiscusses the emotional importance of favorite clothing in the autistic community. The campaign was devised by Havas London and developed in collaboration with the organization Ambitious about Autism.

Connection with culture

One of the aspects that stands out about the winning European campaigns is that, whether they were large global brands or local brands, they took advantage of the cultural knowledge and local idiosyncrasy to change consumer perceptions and work on commercial performance. “Using nuances that resonated with a local market allowed brands to grow regionally, find younger audiences, and increase positive sentiment”; they explain from Warc.

In this regard, the brand campaign launched by McDonald’s Sweden under the concept “Big enough to make a difference”, with which the company highlighted its contributions to Swedish society beyond its products and services. Warc also shares the campaign “I love you but…”, from Ikea Belgium. The company took as insight the Belgians’ rejection of confrontations to articulate a campaign around the resentments and frustrations that coexistence can generate. Thus, it presented its products as solutions to their problems.

Excellence in media executions

Another aspect that Warc highlights is the importance of a smart execution of the media and attention to measurement. He notes that some campaigns have demonstrated the power of multi-media planning, while others have focused on a specific medium for maximum effect.

As an example of this, the association between Heinz and Absolut to create “Absolutely Heinz”, a sauce that combined both products, and that opted for graphic pieces as the main means of communication. It also highlights the outdoor advertising strategy of lacoste with “Unexpected encounters.”