The 11th edition of WARC’s annual Marketer’s Toolkit includes a series of reports

aimed at helping marketers identify new areas of industry disruption, and adapt
swiftly to exploit the opportunities being created.

Businesses are well aware every year brings with it a set of challenges different from
the previous one. While everyone hopes 2022 will allow us to move past COVID-19
and the widespread disruption it has caused, it will continue to have a major impact in
parts of the world.

Even in countries where markets are returning to a more normal state, there are
clearly defined areas where businesses will feel the need for rapid and significant
change: a set of narrowly focused but deeply transformative revolutions, if you will.

Lengthy lockdowns have changed consumer mindsets, meaning marketers must

rapidly understand and adapt to new behaviours. Environmental concerns are higher
than ever before, with consumers likely to hold brands to account on their record. The
nature, scope and preferred channels for both transactions and entertainment have
shifted, and long running concerns about the effectiveness of digital measurement
are becoming more urgent.

Our focus for the Global Trends Report is weighted towards economies that are
opening up, with our base case scenario built on the IMF’s global economic outlook.
We anticipate a steady recovery in vaccinated countries but with significant
inconsistency worldwide, and recognise overhanging concerns around inflation,
labour shortages and supply chain interruptions, as well as the threat of new variants
driving a new round of lockdowns.

It is against this background that we developed this year’s Marketer’s Toolkit. We felt
the best way to address strategic needs for the coming year would be to create a set
of reports offering a selection of different tools to help navigate the coming year.

This report is the first of the series, providing research, analysis and insight into five
key trends that will shape marketing strategies in 2022. Forthcoming reports will
provide regional perspectives, quantitative analysis on global ad trends, and a review
of emerging concepts and metrics that could help maximise marketing effectiveness.

WARC conducted a proprietary global survey of the industry in September and we’ve
included some of our findings in this report. One important finding was that industry
optimism is high, with approximately three out of four respondents expecting
improvements to their business in 2022. While uncertainties we have listed remain,
savvy marketers, who are able to initiate transformative change in critical areas, can
benefit from emerging opportunities.

The Marketer’s Toolkit 2022 is designed to help companies speedily identify, adapt to
and exploit these opportunities.

THE STEPIC METHODOLOGY

This report is part of the 11th annual Marketer’s Toolkit from WARC, aimed at
providing insight and planning support for the main challenges facing marketers in the
coming year.

As in recent years, the report is based on the proprietary STEPIC methodology

developed alongside WARC’s sister brands within the Ascential group of companies.
STEPIC covers six drivers of change for marketing: Society, Technology, Economy,
Policy, Industry and Creativity.

By reviewing the major macro drivers expected to impact our industry in 2022 across
each of these six pillars, the WARC team has been able to gain insight into the major
trends and disruptive forces for marketers, and help define the most effective
strategies to manage and profit from these forces.
TREND NO.1
THE ‘DOUBLE BOTTOM LINE’: VALUING PROFIT
AND THE PLANET
Flooding. Droughts. Wildfires. Extreme rainfall. Tropical cyclones. While the exact outcomes
will vary by geography, an August 2021 report from the United Nations Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made it clear nowhere on earth will be left unscathed by the
coming wave of ecological disruption. At the time of writing, the COP26 summit in Glasgow is
bringing world leaders together to try and stave off this disaster.

An overwhelming body of research has concluded that even with immediate action,
upcoming environmental shifts could take centuries, if not millennia, to remedy.
António Guterres, the UN’s secretary-general, described the situation in simpler (and
scarier) terms as a “code red for humanity”.

As marketers respond to this crisis, they must reconsider long-standing models

formulated around the paradox of achieving infinite growth on a finite planet. In short,
a different kind of growth is urgently needed.

A useful framework to consider here is the ‘double bottom line’ (DBL), an approach
giving equal weight to profits and the ecological impacts deriving from a company’s
activity. Investors are increasingly sold on this idea, as they perceive firms with strong
environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credentials as being well-positioned for
the long term.

The environmental ‘bottom line’ is as complex as traditional balance sheets, as it

covers a firm’s whole operations and the entire product lifecycle. It includes, for
example, the materials required to make things, energy consumed when using digital
services, emissions generated by ad campaigns, and reusing items that are no longer
needed.
Marketers are well-placed to lead in this area, as they occupy a crossroads between
multiple business functions that should be reassessed using an ecological lens, from
product innovation and packaging to shaping brand propositions and transforming
corporate culture.

They are, simultaneously, charged with engaging consumers, tracking performance

and driving long-term growth. As such, if finance teams ‘own’ the profit-and-loss
bottom line, marketers have their own essential role as guardians of a company’s
(and, indeed, the planet’s) future by making sure environmental strategies are
authentic, holistic, and deliver real change.

Consumers expect brands to step up on environmental issues. And for the DBL to
have meaning, this action must be expansive and ongoing, or brands risk accusations
of greenwashing if they don’t follow through on promises.

Some considerations for the environmental bottom line are:

DESIGN ‘Regenerative design’ is an approach that solves ecological problems from a

product or project’s initial inception.

INNOVATION Bio-based product constituents and plant-based food, both with a lower
ecological footprint, are seeing increased use.

MANUFACTURING Technology like 3D printing can be eco-friendly and enable product

customisation.

PACKAGING Alongside becoming more sustainable, packaging can be a marketing

channel, and reusable resource, that prompts behaviour change.

ADVERTISING Internet usage generates the same greenhouse gas emissions as the
airline industry, showing that marketers must quantify the impact of media buying, as
well as the creative supply chain and ad production.

RETAIL E-commerce is an example of how wasteful purchases and returns, paired with
volume-led, click-focused marketing strategies, yield unnecessary emissions.
REUSE A ‘circular economy’ strategy ensures old products can easily be reused, resold,
and/or recycled.
NEW DEFINITIONS AND STANDARDS

The term ‘sustainability’ cannot adequately describe this work. Firstly, it sounds like a
strategic add-on. Secondly, it applies to every conceivable green endeavour, meaning
each brand sets (then grades) its own homework.

Third-party initiatives, like B Corp certification, standardise ways of tracking progress.

And that comparability is especially valuable for shareholders, suppliers and
distributors – audiences that are responsive to ads demonstrating real ecological
commitment.

New research from Dr Grace Kite and Purpose Disruptors estimates that advertising
adds 28% to the carbon footprint of everyone in the UK. Purpose Disruptors has set up
a process where ad businesses can measure emissions to establish a baseline, and
then track their performance in reducing emissions
DELIVERING BUSINESS GROWTH

The DBL, of course, demands traditional growth alongside tackling ecological

concerns. Several marketers have illustrated how this might be achieved:
REFRAMING VALUE
Himanshu Sinha, VP, Digital Growth/E-commerce at sustainable shoe and clothing
brand Allbirds, told WARC that consumers want brands to be green, but sustainability
isn’t a purchase priority. “I still feel that, right now, it's not the primary consideration
for a purchase”, he said.

One solution is reframing value. An example: Buy Better, Wear Longer, from denim
brand Levi’s, encouraged people to invest in, then maintain, quality clothing for longer.
“NUDGE” CONSUMERS Dishwasher detergent Finish urged people to save water by not
pre-rinsing dishes – a “green nudge” helping consumers overcome widespread
confusion about what eco-friendly actions to take.

SMALL STEPS Indian apparel brand Liva introduced “plantable” clothing tags that
reduced waste while supporting rural women and organic farmers. Even these small
victories can add up to lasting change which delivers environmental and financial
benefits.
MINDSETS ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

The good news: the ‘double bottom line’ is now a reality for 46% of participants in
WARC’s global survey of marketers, as they already afford the environment and
financial growth equal importance.
Fifty-one percent also reported that sustainability is incorporated into business
decisions. From a qualitative perspective, Pete Markey, CMO at UK retailer Boots,
summed up this task: “Everything we do in our end-to-end customer experience has to
be increasingly sustainable”, he told WARC.

HOW BRANDS ACT AND MEASURE

There was a three-way tie when it came to how brands and agencies are responding
to environmental concerns, as approximately 38% are:

• changing manufacturing, packaging and distribution;

• making public commitments they will be accountable for;
• and encouraging green consumer behaviours in their messaging.
There is still work to do on measurement, as 25% of respondents, the largest single
group, viewed sustainability as a “general goal” rather than using specific metrics.
Other strategies include pursuing goals based on external standards or developed
with third-party experts (20%), varying measurement by location (20%) and using hard
internal metrics (18%).
TAKE AWAY:

THE ‘DOUBLE BOTTOM LINE’ IS NOT A QUICK FIX OR A ONE-AND-DONE SOLUTION

Like the traditional bottom line, it demands constant attention, continuous

improvement, and commitment from an organisation as a whole. Marketers have the
ability to spearhead these efforts given their position at the intersection of numerous
business disciplines with a major environmental impact.
MODELS BASED ON ACHIEVING FINANCIAL GROWTH ALONE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE
THE SCRUTINY OF SHAREHOLDERS, CONSUMERS OR COMMUNITIES IN THE LONG TERM

Even if sustainability is not a top priority in many buying decisions at present, inertia
or inaction is not a valid approach for brands seeking to be ready for the challenges of
the future.
COMMUNICATIONS RELATED TO SUSTAINABILITY SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT
OVERSTATING WHAT BRANDS ARE DOING

If appropriate, they can also reframe some of the central tenets of marketing –
whether that involves how to think about value, the principles behind media buying,
and how the product lifecycle might better be considered as a circle rather than a
funnel.
TREND NO. 2
CLOSING THE EFFECTIVENESS GAP
Advertising measurement is in a state of unprecedented flux. For marketers, this will mean
taking a less myopic view of campaign performance, and being more proactive in the
measurement of long-term effectiveness.

Cracking the cross-channel conundrum Need for new measures and techniques Re-think long-
term measurement Strive for cross-media measurement Market penetration becomes more
important for brands More brands use MMM Case study The CMO view Takeaways

Brands will find it harder to access and analyse user-level data as a result of
increased privacy regulation, the deprecation of third-party cookies by Google (now
scheduled for 2023) and the decision by Apple to require users to opt-in to ad tracking
by mobile apps. Initiatives like Google’s Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC)
encourage the analysis of audience groups, rather than individuals. Day-to-day online
campaign measurement will involve lower levels of granularity.

TV measurement also finds itself at a crossroads, after Nielsen’s long-standing

accreditation to measure national and local television in the US was suspended by the
Media Rating Council. The rapid growth in connected TV viewing means the industry
must find a way to reconcile traditional panel-based ratings with digital-style
impression data.

For some marketers – particularly those with direct customer relationships – the
solution to the impending third-party data crunch will be to double-down on first-party
data collection. Nearly four-in-ten (39%) of respondents to the Marketer’s Toolkit 2022
survey believe that developing first- or zero-party data assets is their best response to
the demise of the third-party cookie.
Not all brands will find it possible to build large first-party data pools, however: 85% of
those surveyed by WARC expect their business to be impacted by data privacy
restrictions, and over half (56%) agreed that building consumer profiles amid growing
data fragmentation is the biggest challenge of marketing in a post-cookie world.

For some brands, the new data environment will prompt an exploration of insights
that can be garnered from probabilistic data collection and analysis. This provides an
opportunity to adopt more holistic measurement solutions, and to bring hitherto
disconnected short- and long-term effectiveness measures closer together.
NEED FOR NEW MEASURES AND TECHNIQUES

The future of measurement will require the integration of a suite of solutions – and a
coalition of collaborative partners – rather than a single do-it-all tool.

Over half (52%) of those surveyed by WARC for the Marketer’s Toolkit said they are
looking to find “new measures of effectiveness”, while 42% acknowledge the need to
invest in new technologies to measure audiences.

UK broadcaster Channel 4 recently reviewed its media planning and buying account,
and the availability of tools for measurement automation was a primary factor guiding
its selection.

RE-THINK LONG-TERM MEASUREMENT

Thanks to developments in machine learning, measurement models like Diageo’s

Marketing Catalyst are becoming both strategic and tactical.

Marketing mix modelling (MMM) can be run every few weeks, rather than quarterly or
annually. Always-on live models can be fed with estimates and benchmarks to allow
real-time optimisation. Even data rich digital platforms like Google and Facebook are
encouraging brands to reconsider models over last-click attribution.

As a result, long-term effectiveness measurement is becoming a more active pursuit.

Using artificial intelligence, this type of modelling can also explore future scenarios
through “war gaming”. Advertisers can use those findings to prepare for changes to
consumer and competitor behaviour

STRIVE FOR CROSS-MEDIA MEASUREMENT

Research has proved time and again that campaign effectiveness benefits from a
multi-channel approach. According to Analytic Partners, the ROI from using three or
more channels is 56% higher than using one channel alone. However, the ability of
businesses to measure across channels and platforms is increasingly limited.

Initiatives to solve this conundrum will go up a gear in 2022. Project Origin – an

initiative led by UK and US advertiser bodies ISBA and the ANA – claims to be able to
sift through data from multiple channels to infer whether a person saw a campaign in
different contexts. It does this through probabilistic matching and the use of a ‘virtual
ID’, which combines privacy-compliant anonymised digital audience data with TV
panel assets.

Such tools will help brands to understand reach and frequency, and prevent
duplication across screens and platforms. Yet it is unlikely that programmes like
Origin will progress far beyond the trial stage over the coming 12 months. The priority
for marketers, therefore, should be to plan better against the data they can currently
access.
TAKE AWAY

FOR BRANDS WITH DIRECT CONSUMER RELATIONSHIPS, EXPLORING FIRST-PARTY DATA

COLLECTION REMAINS THE MOST ROBUST PATHWAY TO UNDERSTANDING MARKETING
EFFECTIVENESS

Advertisers without DTC business models in categories such as FMCG, food and
beverages have succeeded in gathering customer data via other means, including
events, content and loyalty initiatives. However, all data collection and management
must adhere to local data privacy regulations.
BRANDS SHOULD CONSIDER UTILISING PROBABILISTIC DATA

Even the most data-rich companies will still face challenges when it comes to
measuring the effectiveness of advertising investment. As third-party cookies and
mobile ID data becomes scarcer, and businesses lack the deterministic data required
to follow customer journeys across channels and walled-garden platforms, brands
may benefit from probabilistic matching and data modelling.
TEST AND LEARN APPROACHES WILL BE REQUIRED

With cross-channel measurement initiatives some time away from being available to
the majority of brands, marketers ought to see how they might benefit from solutions
already on the market, such as AI-powered market mix modelling techniques. The
right measurement solution will depend on your brand’s strategy, level of activity and
marketing spend.
TREND NO.3
RECALIBRATING LIFE: THE POST-LOCKDOWN
CONSUMER
In several countries around the world, consumers are coming out of lockdowns. However, even
in these supposedly ‘back-to-normal’ markets, consumers aren’t behaving in quite the same
way as before the pandemic. In certain important ways, consumer interests, shopping
behaviours and preferences have altered significantly, offering savvy businesses new tracts of
opportunity in 2022.

While the true impact of the pandemic will take years to determine, our analysis
indicates that these discernable attitudinal and behavioural changes can be
categorised into four main trends, each of which will have an impact on marketing
strategies over 2022.
1. HOME TETHERED
Forced to stay in for months, consumers have grown more connected to their homes.
They are moving further out of cities in some cases, investing in home improvements
and making more meals at home, with Google seeing searches for ideas on home
design, kitchens and bathrooms rise sharply.
2.GRAVITY INCREASED
The grave implications of the pandemic have reoriented consumer mindsets more
towards social issues. In Brazil, social initiatives from retailer Magazine Luisa and
cosmetics brand Natura & Co. resulted in immediate increases in Google searches,
Instagram followers and stock prices.

3. WELLNESS PRIORITISED
A dramatically increased focus on medical issues has resulted in consumers being
more oriented towards both physical health as well as mental wellness. GWI research
has found that 31% of consumers are concerned about their mental health following
lockdowns.
4. DIGITAL ACCELERATED
Lockdowns significantly accelerated a shift towards e-commerce, also complicating
customer journeys. Mastercard estimates that e-commerce made up roughly $1 out
of every $5 spent on retail in 2020, up from $1 out of every $7 in 2019; while Facebook
found that four in ten consumers were buying things online that they used to in-store.
Businesses that understand the ramifications for their brands can develop effective
strategies to benefit from any resulting market disruption.
HOME TETHERED

All that time at home has changed consumer mindsets in a number of ways:
COCOONING
Paradoxically, consumers want to spend even more time at home, investing in home
and kitchen improvements and cooking more. Hybrid working is also attracting
interest in larger homes further outside cities. However, working from home is an
option primarily for a higher income minority: ONS research found that COVID has had
no impact on the commute for 50% of workers.
FALLING FREQUENCY Still, consumers are going out less. Kantar research found
consumers are shopping for groceries less often, but buying more per trip. This also
appears true of other activities, such as socialising and spontaneous outings. Brands
should consider larger product units and packaging to cater for reduced shopping
frequency.
STAYING LOCAL A third of consumers who have returned to work are spending more in
their local area than they were before lockdown. Brands should explore the possibility
of a better distributed presence on local high streets and suburbs, depending on their
category.
GRAVITY INCREASED

Accenture research found 50% of consumers are now rethinking their personal
purpose, what’s important in life, and feeling more altruistic. This will affect:
SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
Research from GWI found that a brand’s support for people during the pandemic and
eco credentials both ranked higher than product quality and affordable pricing for the
first time. Supporting social causes was another important requirement.
LOCAL FOCUS With more time spent at home, regional and local issues are expected to
gain more significance for consumers. This could be an important opportunity for
both brands and retailers with a neighborhood presence.
VALUE DRIVEN Despite the increase in household savings, consumers are concerned
about their financial future. They are increasingly basing purchase decisions on
product value. Brands that can convince consumers that they are offering the most
value, both financial and personal, will benefit in 2022.

WELLNESS PRIORITISED

Consumers worldwide were on the lookout for immunity-boosting vitamins and

supplements, healthier eating options and improving general health. Wellness
concerns are driving the following trends:
MENTAL WELLBEING
Stress reduction activities such as yoga, herbal remedies and meditation are gaining
popularity. While not all brands can effectively target specific healthcare issues, they
can empathise with this mindset, find ways to simplify a customer's life, and
communicate positivity.
HYBRID HEALTHCARE The COVID-driven transition to digital has also accelerated
telehealth adoption, though the future will likely be hybrid: virtual care will be used as
a triage tool, and for some specialities; while others will require in-person visits.
Customer journeys mapped for health and fitness related products will need to
support these behaviours.
DIGITAL ACCELERATED

E-commerce adoption has grown exponentially in the past two years, which is already
having a profound impact on marketing strategies.
VARIED DEMOGRAPHICS
Waitrose found that the percentage of its customers aged 55+ who bought groceries
online, grew from 8% to 23% over one year. It’s important that brands and retailers
design digital customer experiences suitable for varying consumer segments.
ONLINE PREFERRED Almost half of consumers who are shopping online for the first
time because of the pandemic prefer e-commerce to brick-and-mortar stores. Brands
need to pivot strategies to cater to a previously non-digital consumer base that now
prefers the digital channel.
MULTICHANNEL JOURNEYS McKinsey found that 33% of Indian adults, 26% of American
adults and 16% of French and Spanish adults liked buying online and picking up in
store. Gen Z, in particular, like combining digital and in-store experiences.
DISCOVERY REVAMPED While consumers may perceive established brands as having
safer production and distribution practices, newer brands are also finding
opportunities as discovery channels are changing: 73% of growth in retail-based
searches were on new or rarely searched terms and smartphone purchases grew in
four out of five retail categories. Brands must ensure they are present on these
adapted customer journeys.
TAKE AWAY

SHIFTS IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR WILL VARY IN INTENSITY ACROSS CATEGORIES AND

SEGMENTS

Brands will need to accept that their customers are changing and understand how
these broader trends are affecting different segments across their customer base.
They need to identify where on this new spectrum they are, so they can adjust their
marketing strategies correspondingly.
LOCKDOWNS HAVE DRIVEN MORE SERIOUS MINDSETS, WHICH ARE MANIFESTING IN
MULTIPLE WAYS

Issues such as brand purpose and transparency around employee care and
environmental practices will become more important. In particular, consumers are
spending more time at home and becoming more concerned about their local
environment. Personal and family health and wellness are also being prioritised.
Brands that can address these new needs will benefit in 2022.
THERE IS A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN DIGITAL CHANNELS BUT ALSO SHIFTS IN THE
DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTS THAT ARE COMING ONLINE

Plus, consumers are now switching between digital and in-store channels at all stages
of the purchase process. Brands need to architect support for a variety of customer
journeys across channels, creating a customer experience that offers flexible but
consistent support for a wide range of digital skill sets and mindsets.

TREND NO.4
SOCIAL COMMERCE AND THE CREATOR
ECONOMY
Content creators on social media are increasingly becoming empowered as they shift their
followings to independent platforms. As livestreaming and other combinations of social
entertainment and digital commerce become more popular, brands will have real opportunities
in this space if they can find effective ways to work with creators.

Content creators on a variety of digital platforms have gained sizeable fan followings
around the world. Their emergence is creating new channels and opportunities for
brands to communicate, engage and transact with consumers.
A NEW DYNAMIC

The creator economy is driven by passionate individuals who share their interests
with an engaged community, and generate income from their knowledge and skills.
While influencers monetise their audiences via sponsored posts and ad revenue,
creators are bypassing the major platforms to make an income through tools such as
Patreon, Substack, Cameo, TipJar, selling NFTs, and creating their own brands and
merchandise. This changes the relationship between brands, media platforms and
creators, and is driving innovative partnerships and collaborations.
RISE OF COMMUNITY COMMERCE
Creators’ communities and the concept of fandom are an increasingly important
cultural force. The power of the creator economy lies in its ability to cater to every
special interest and niche, and community commerce will provide a space where
creators and brands can build the high levels of engagement that drive inspiration and
purchase.
GAMING LEVELS UP
Brands working with gaming creators and esports are paving the way, with
collaborations enabling localisation on a global scale. The pandemic has created
huge growth for the gaming industry, with an 80% increase in livestream gaming
content, and it is estimated 75% of the net rise in mobile gaming activity will become
permanent post-Covid.
SOCIAL PLATFORMS EVOLVE
YouTube, Facebook and Instagram will continue to update their services to keep
creators on their platforms and offer tools and revenue shares that creators had been
finding elsewhere. Social commerce will become mainstream as 75% of brands in the
WARC survey plan to increase spending, leveraging the power of creators to sell via
livestreams and shoppable media.

BRANDS MUST RELEASE CONTROL TO COLLABORATE WITH CREATORS

Strategist Zoe Scaman highlights that “the new dynamic between brands and creators
heralds the arrival of more open and collaborative business models, with brands
inviting creators in and giving them a springboard against which they can pursue their
own ideas”.

Offering creative freedom may be a scary prospect for some brands but there will be
rewards for those that take the leap with authentic creator collaborations. Research
by TikTok showed that 88% of users discover new content while on the app and one in
two discover new products and brands in the process, with 91% of users taking some
sort of action after seeing content. The potential of the rapidly growing video app is
reflected by the WARC survey, as more respondents planned to increase spend on
TikTok than on any other social platform.
TIME FOR BRANDS TO ADAPT FOR SOCIAL COMMERCE

Social commerce adoption, like e-commerce, has been greatly accelerated by the
pandemic. Social platforms are becoming shopping destinations as new technology
has made shoppable media a seamless experience, transforming platforms into
malls.

The lines between content and commerce blur as livestream commerce, as well as
livestream content, will become more widespread outside of China and South-East
Asia. Purchase from livestream advertising was pioneered in China, where famous
creators include Li Jiaqi who sold $1.6bn worth of products in a 12-hour livestream
promoting Singles Day 2021.
A STEP INTO THE METAVERSE

The metaverse was a hot topic in 2021, but despite the hype it’s not quite here yet. A
report by Wunderman Thompson offers multiple definitions of the metaverse
including a persistent and user-defined virtual space, a digital layer of everyday life
and a digital twin of the everyday world. While the metaverse may evade a precise
definition, the increasing reliance on technology for everyday life and the fact that
people are replicating their routines, interests and obsessions online means the next
phase of the internet has already begun.

Gaming is again the trailblazer – it is merging with social media as games become
places to socialise and spend time. In 2022, more brands will experiment with
involvement in gaming, which is set to become a $300 billion industry by 2025 – there
are limitless opportunities as anything in the physical world can be recreated in the
virtual world.
TAKE AWAY:

IT IS NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND THE NUANCES BETWEEN INFLUENCERS AND CREATORS

TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE GROWING CREATOR ECONOMY

For brands looking to engage in the creator economy, it will be important to focus on
an authentic fit with a particular creator, to build or highlight credibility in this space,
and to arrange sustainable partnerships that result in long-term value for the brand
and creator.
SOCIAL COMMERCE IS WELL-ESTABLISHED IN SOUTH-ASIA AND CHINA, BUT OTHER REGIONS
ARE FAST CATCHING UP AS A RESULT OF SHOPPING TRENDS ACCELERATED BY THE
PANDEMIC

Social platforms are rapidly evolving their offerings for brands, creators and
consumers and so keeping abreast of tech changes in this space is paramount.
Community commerce is a growing area enabling brands to be part of the
conversation driving purchase.
THE GAMING WORLD IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF TRENDS IN THE CREATOR ECONOMY,
VIRTUAL BRAND PRESENCE AND THE EMERGING METAVERSE

Creators are the gatekeepers for brands wanting to engage in gaming, and so building
trust with creators and their communities is key. Brand collaborations should be
relevant and appropriate so any product integration is natural and unobtrusive – but
done well this is a huge opportunity.
TREND NO.5
THE COLLISION OF BRAND AND E-COMMERCE
One important impact of the pandemic has been the acceleration of digital commerce. Whether
it’s marketplaces like Amazon, stores-turned-retail-media like Walmart or Target, or delivery
apps like DoorDash, growth has soared. While that may plateau post-lockdown, few think it will
be reversed.

The surge in e-commerce adoption is triggering significant changes for marketers – in the way
they spend money, and the way teams are structured. For many, 2022 will be a year to resolve
internal tensions, and to seize the opportunities emerging in the space between brand building
and digital commerce.

A sign of how important this topic is came in Gartner’s annual CMO Spend Study
2021. The research showed optimisation of digital commerce is the number one
priority in terms of allocating the marketing budget (12.3% of budgets, on average).
This is followed by marketing operations (11.9%) and brand strategy (11.3%).

Not only are the platforms evolving their capabilities quickly, there is a growing array
of agency and vendor services available to help marketers navigate these areas. In the
Marketer’s Toolkit survey, 78% expect to spend more on e-commerce; 75% on social
commerce.

But few marketers feel they’ve got it right. Recent research by the World Federation of
Advertisers, in conjunction with Ebiquity, found not one of 52 global media leaders
interviewed was “very satisfied” with their current capabilities in e-commerce.

Some of this dissatisfaction may reflect the fact that only 28% of media and
marketing teams own the budgets for shoppable media formats. Anecdotal reports
suggest marketing and e-commerce teams remain separate in many businesses – but
budgets increasingly need to be aligned.

“Org structures should be completely blown up and re-thought for the reality we have
today”, argues John Denny, VP, E-commerce and Digital Marketing at CAVU Venture
Partners. “In the most advanced organisations I see, the team is simply one group –
all with advanced knowledge about every lever that can powerfully drive consumer
behaviour.”
RETAIL MEDIA MOVES BEYOND PERFORMANCE

The first point to note is that the platforms are investing heavily in broadening their ad
offers. And, crucially, they are looking to broaden their ad offers away from a
performance-dominated approach. Performance ads, particularly search, have been
key to winning adspend from other channels. But some platforms have spied an
opportunity to close the loop between brand advertising and purchase, driving a new
phase of growth.

Amazon pushes hard: Adam Epstein, VP Growth at WARC’s sister company Perpetua,
points to three developments marketers in Amazon-dominated markets should be
aware of.

AMAZON ADVERTISING CAPABILITIES

Amazon’s ongoing attempts to build brand advertising opportunities through its
existing video properties, plus acquisitions like MGM and licensing of major sporting
events. A major advantage here is access to rich first-party data, especially given the
impending death of the cookie.

AMAZON MARKETING CLOUD (AMC)

The continued roll-out of the Amazon Marketing Cloud – this is the clean room that
allows brands to monitor whether people who have seen upper funnel ads then go on
to interact further down the funnel and ultimately convert. This is potentially powerful
but will require a lot of test-and-learn and further refinement in 2022.
BRAND METRICS
A new product which allows brands to see whether consumers who have awareness
of a brand then go on to spend more with it. This and AMC are designed to prove that
brand and response work together – and that Amazon is the place you can do both
and measure the outcome. To this end, some early adopter advertisers are testing an
'always on' OTT strategy within Amazon properties.
It is telling that Amazon has launched a B2B campaign to tell advertisers about its
brand-building potential. And anecdotal reports suggest Amazon's sales people are all
now incentivised on selling upper funnel.

OTHER PLATFORMS ARE ON THE SAME TRACK

Walmart doesn't have video but is partnering with Trade Desk to access its inventory,
and has the added benefit of being able to combine with in-store. Meanwhile, the push
by social platforms such as Facebook and TikTok into commerce promises to build
the same combinations from a different starting point.

ASIA IS ALREADY THERE

These trends are also advanced in markets like Southeast Asia, where platforms like
Shopee present themselves as entertainment as well as shopping destinations.
Chinese platforms already successfully combine social and commerce elements.
REALIGNMENT OF TEAMS AS COMMERCE AND BRAND MOVE CLOSER

The collision of brand and e-commerce is causing organisations to reassess internal

structures – particularly where e-commerce and marketing have sat in different
functions. This tension is particularly clear in the allocation of budget. What might
have been considered trade or shopper marketing in the offline space (for example, in-
store placement) is in the online space being funded by the marketing budget. In
some cases this is what Dr Grace Kite has referred to as “online rent” – investment
that does not drive incremental sales, but enables consumers to find brands they may
be looking for anyway.

Interviews with senior marketers reveal that alignment of strategy and metrics across
brand and e-commerce teams is a key theme. For example:

• Pernod Ricard: Invested heavily in digital commerce and is now keen to speak
with a single voice. It has introduced a “media to shelf” approach that looks to
join the dots
• Kimberly-Clark: Drawing lessons from China on how to use data from
commerce platforms to inform awareness and consideration work as well as
conversion and retention
• Cadbury: Building “fully integrated solutions” within Amazon
 • Ford: Increasingly looking at customer lifetime value, with e-commerce options
becoming part of a broader customer relationship that stretches years beyond
the purchase
• Yum! Brands: Has developed the Sales Overnight/Brands Over time (SOBO)
approach, where it makes longer-term brand building a major initiative, and
then looks at Sales Overnight as activating the resulting awareness

Some brands are already reconfiguring team structures to break pre-existing silos and
ensure joined up thinking. Hershey moved early on this in 2020, attempting to merge
marketing and e-commerce teams to avoid the doubling up of promotions.
TAKE AWAY
THE TRENDS CONNECTING COMMERCE AND CONTENT PROMISE A NEW DEGREE OF INSIGHT
INTO THE WAYS BRAND BUILDING AND PERFORMANCE MARKETING WORK TOGETHER WITHIN
A CLOSED ECOSYSTEM
But there is a lot of refinement to come in 2022. Brands with heavy exposure to digital
commerce should be looking for opportunities to test and learn as new products enter
the market.
ONE OF THE KEY AREAS FOR EXPLORATION IS THE BEHAVIOUR OF CONSUMERS EXPOSED TO
BRAND ADVERTISING – FROM INTERACTING WITH OTHER BRAND CONTENT TO MAKING
PURCHASES
It will, of course, also be important to factor in external activity from outside the
ecosystem, and to consider the impact of the brand work over months rather than
hours.
A SILOED APPROACH WILL MISS IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS
While there are many ways to structure brand and e-commerce teams, it will be vital to
remove silos so that brand teams gain real understanding of the platforms, and e-
commerce teams understand the impact of brand within purchase journeys. This will,
in turn, help shape better customer experiences.