Warc Unveils World's Smartest Marketing Campaigns

LONDON, July 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

• Warc launches Warc 100, a global ranking of marketing campaigns.
• Ranking is based on performance in effectiveness and strategy competitions.
• 'Fakka' campaign for Vodafone by JWT Cairo tops poll.

An Egyptian campaign for Vodafone has topped a new ranking of the world's smartest marketing campaigns.

The Warc 100 (http://www.warc.com/warc100), launched by marketing intelligence service Warc, is an annual list of the world's best campaigns, based on performance in effectiveness and strategy competitions. It is a benchmark for commercial creativity, ranking strategies that drive business performance or change consumer behaviour.

'Fakka', a Vodafone initiative through agency JWT Cairo, has emerged as the leading campaign in the Warc 100's first year. Vodafone introduced Micro Credit Recharge Cards for low-income Egyptians, and developed a new distribution channel by turning the cards into a form of low-denomination currency that could be used by shopkeepers in place of small change.

The US was the most-represented market in the top 100, with 22 of the entries developed there. Australia came next, with 11 entries.

To compile the rankings, Warc tracked more than 1700 winners in 75 different competitions. It assigned points based on the awards won (for example, Gold, Silver or Bronze), then weighted those points based on the competition's rigour and prestige in the global industry. Warc has developed a proprietary methodology to weight competitions in consultation with Professor Douglas West, Professor of Marketing at King's College London.

The Warc 100 has been developed to reflect the growing importance of strategic thinking and measurement rigour in marketing. It will showcase the best work, and will help raise awareness of the leading cases.

"The growing number of effectiveness and strategy awards around the world shows how important it is to prove marketing can make a difference," said Louise Ainsworth, CEO of Warc. "The Warc 100 will rank the best of the best. It will help brands and agencies keep up to date with strategies that have a commercial impact, and to benchmark their own performance against their peers."

Warc will reveal further data from the Warc 100, including the world's top agencies and brands, later in the summer.

The top 10 campaigns (Title / Brand / Agency / Market) in full are: 

1.    'Fakka' / Vodafone / JWT / Egypt

2.    'Small Business Saturday' / American Express / Digitas, Crispin Porter & Bogusky / US

3.    'It's More Fun in the Philippines' / Philippines Dept of Tourism / BBDO Guerrero / Philippines

4.    'Thank You, Mom' / Procter & Gamble / Wieden + Kennedy / US

5.    'Overstay Checkout' / Art Series Hotels / Naked Communications / Australia

6.    'Daily Twist' / Oreo / FCB, 360i / US

7.    'Smoking Kid' / Thai Health Promotion Foundation / Ogilvy & Mather / Thailand

8.    'Old Parts for New' / ORBIS International / Ogilvy & Mather / Hong Kong

9.    'Real Beauty Sketches' / Dove / Ogilvy & Mather / Brazil

10.   'Car Creation' / NRMA Insurance / Whybin\TBWA / Australia    

Speaking about the top-ranked 'Fakka' campaign, Amal el Masri, Chief Strategy Officer, JWT MENA commented: "Egyptians are resourceful by nature and this can been seen in many aspects of everyday life, including the habit of replacing change with low value items. Vodafone Fakka combines innovation with this inherent cultural trait to provide a really relevant and useful solution to its customers."

Speaking about 'It's More Fun in the Philippines' (the top-ranked campaign from Asia-Pacific), Tony Harris, CEO, BBDO Guerrero, commented: "Tourism has been called 'the people's business' and the success of 'It's More Fun In The Philippines' has come about because it used the connectivity of Filipinos to spotlight the country on a global stage. We are hugely proud that this has been recognised as the 'smartest' campaign in Asia - for us, our client and of course, the nation".

About the Warc 100:  

The Warc 100 is a ranking of the world's top marketing campaigns, based on their performance in effectiveness and strategy competitions.

Warc tracked more than 1700 winners in 75 different competitions to compile the rankings. It assigned points to each winner, based on the award it won (Grand Prix/Gold/Silver/Bronze, or equivalents). It then weighted the points, based on the rigour and prestige of the competition. Each competition has a weighting between 1 and 5 - Warc has assigned these weightings based on a number of factors, including a survey of senior planners around the world. The methodology was developed in consultation with Professor Douglas West, Professor of Marketing at King's College London.

More details of the methodology are available on the Prize website.

Warc will release further data from the Warc 100 in the coming months.

About Warc:  

Warc.com is an online service offering advertising best practice, evidence and insights from the world's leading brands. Warc helps clients grow their businesses by using proven approaches to maximise advertising effectiveness.

Warc's clients include the world's largest advertising and media agencies, research companies, universities and advertisers.

Warc also publishes leading journals including Admap, Market Leader, the Journal of Advertising Research and the International Journal of the Market Research Society.

In addition to its own content, Warc features advertising case studies and best practices from more than 50 respected industry sources, including: ARF, Effies, Cannes Lions, ESOMAR and IPA. Warc hosts three annual case study competitions: Warc Prize for Innovation, Warc Prize for Social Strategy and Warc Prize for Asian Strategy.

Founded in 1985, Warc is privately owned and has offices in the UK, U.S. and Singapore.

For Media Enquiries, contact:

David Tiltman                        
Head of Content, Warc                    
e [email protected]                  
t +44(0)754-0000-373                    

Imaad Ahmed
Marketing Director, Warc
e [email protected]
t +44(0)207-4678138

SOURCE Warc