Warc and Deloitte launch Toolkit for Marketers in 2013

The report highlights issues facing marketers – from the squeeze on middle-class lifestyles, to the impact of technology on the path to purchase, to the challenge of 'big data'

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | January 15, 2013

Global marketing intelligence service, Warc, in association with business advisory firm Deloitte, has launched Toolkit 2013, a guide to the biggest challenges facing marketers in the year ahead. The report highlights a series of issues facing marketers around the world – from the squeeze on middle-class lifestyles, to the impact of technology on the path to purchase, to the challenge of 'big data'.

It uses Warc's database of best practice and new thinking, plus the experience of Deloitte's Marketing & Insight Practice, to show how the smartest marketers are responding to these challenges. It offers guidance on how other brands can raise their game.

Toolkit 2013 highlights four priorities for brands in 2013:

1. Understanding changing consumer expectations: Hard-pressed consumers are taking out their anger on companies. Brands need to show how they are making a difference in difficult times. That may mean a greater focus on corporate ethics and authenticity. It may also mean making consumers' lives easier, and creating a useful presence in everyday life.

2. Rethinking the path to purchase: Trends such as 'showrooming' and 'multiscreening' make the path-to-purchase more complex. It is important to review the ways shoppers now interact with brands. This may mean greater alignment of messaging – for example, in-store with mobile search, or TV with social media and e-commerce.

3. Fresh thinking on social media and the role of influence: There is a lot of new thinking about the role of social media within marketing communications, and the way influence works. The upshot is that 'social' is a much broader topic than 'social media'. Research suggests it is worth rethinking engagement strategies on social media, and looking offline as well as online for potential advocates.

4. Using 'big data' to answer big questions: The opportunities of 'big data' are huge, but brands must tread carefully if they are to avoid being overwhelmed by numbers or alienating consumers through poorly executed personalisation. An interesting first step may be to select a small number of data sources and then to ask 'big' questions of how a category works – for example, how consumers discuss the category, and where the right moments to influence them might be.

More information on the report can be found at www.warc.com/toolkit2013. Subscribers to Warc can download the full report, consisting of 10 chapters filled with data, case studies, points of view and implications. A summary report highlighting the key findings and data is also available.

David Tiltman, International Editor at Warc, commented, “The goal of the Toolkit 2013 is to distil all the great new thinking and best practice on Warc into a guide to the biggest marketing challenges, and the smartest ways to respond. Last year's Toolkit anticipated themes such as the importance of the emerging middle-classes and the shift toward cultural insight in marketing. This year we've made it even stronger by adding the perspectives of Deloitte's consulting team.”

Nick Turner, Partner in Deloitte's Marketing & Insight Practice, said, “The Toolkit 2013 is an innovative collaboration that combines Warc's unparalleled global reach with the breadth of our own client experiences to identify the key marketing trends for the year ahead. As well as outlining the challenges that marketers will face in the year to come, the report is packed with insightful case studies highlighting how leading brands are successfully responding, providing both the strategic context and a practical way forward towards marketing effectiveness in 2013.”

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com