The2020 Marketer’s Toolkit THE DEFINITIVE, EVIDENCE-BASED AND PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR YOUR MARKETING PLANS What does 2020 About this have in store? report As marketers finalise their plans The Marketer’s Toolkit 2020 is not This is the ninth annual Marketer’s Toolkit from WARC – but for 2020 we have for the year ahead, WARC has just another end-of year review introduced a new methodology. pulled together a comprehensive guide of what to expect, and what The report is built on three inputs: This report adopts the STEIP methodology developed by WARC’s sister you can do about it. brands within the Ascential group of companies. • A survey of nearly 800 client Welcome to the Marketer’s and agency-side executives STEIP covers five drivers of change that will affect marketers next year: Toolkit 2020. around the world, following Society, Technology, Economy, Industry and Policy. By combining these five our STEIP ‘drivers of change’ focus areas, the report provides a bottom-up assessment of the influences There’s certainly plenty to plan methodology; on 2020 marketing strategy. for. 2020 will be the year many • Interviews with 10 CMOs from marketers around the world take around the world; action to reverse the drift to • Our own analysis of the short-termism, while the ‘walled research, best practice and gardens’ strengthen their grip on case studies we’ve published S T E I P performance marketing spend. on WARC in 2019. SOCIETY TECHNOLOGY ECONOMY INDUSTRY POLICY It’ll be a year when brands review As such, the Marketer’s Toolkit is the environmental impact of their a guide to which near-term trends packaging, and when regulators your peers are prioritising, and and consumers combine to what you can do to keep ahead of demand more on data privacy. the market. And it’ll be a year when the big This document summarises the The Marketer’s Toolkit 2020 was created in association with the following tech stories won’t just be the data and the thinking. WARC Ascential brands: latest gadgets, but the reshaping subscribers can read a full data of ad tech around context and report plus five in-depth chapters connected TV. at warc.com/toolkit. Society Brand purpose is evolving into brand activism – the vast majority of respondents in WARC’s Marketer’s Toolkit agree that it is important to ‘take a stand’ on social issues. There are two stand-out trends that brands are responding to. The growing concern around consumer privacy online is expected to have a broad impact on marketing strategies in 2020, and that trend will be accelerated in The drivers some markets by regulatory action. altering consumer The second trend is the ongoing rise of conscious consumerism, after behaviour and environmental issues came to the fore in 2020. Brands are likely to accelerate their response to this trend, with preferences particular focus on packaging and the supply chain. © Copyright WARC 2019. All rights reserved. SOURCE: WARC Marketer’s Toolkit 2020 survey 5% Themes 16% 2% from the data 40% Marketers believe they need to take a stand 37% Brands need to take a 28% stand on social issues The evolution of ‘brand purpose’ into ‘brand 19% activism’ is clear in the WARC Marketer’s Toolkit survey. There is a widespread belief among 6% marketers that brands have a powerful role to play in society – more than 75% of marketers agree that brands need to take a stand on social issues. The stand-out example so far has been Nike’s work with Colin Kaepernick. The movement towards activism may reflect 13% a struggle by many to have a cultural impact STRONGLY DISAGREE through more traditional means. Almost half of 34% DISAGREE the responding marketers agreed that it is harder In the current climate it for brands to influence culture at scale in the NEUTRAL is harder for brands to current climate. influence culture at scale AGREE STRONGLY AGREE © Copyright WARC 2019. All rights reserved. 13% 13% How great is the impact of each of the following societal topics and consumer concerns on your / your typical client’s 2020 marketing strategy? CONSCIOUS CONSCIOUS MENTAL HEALTH, HEALTH, MENTAL DIGITAL DETOXING, DETOXING, DIGITAL PRIVACY, CONSUMER PRIVACY, NOT IMPORTANT DATA: INTERNETCONTROL, ETHICAL ENVIRONMENT: CONSUMPTION AND SUSTAINABILITY ECONOMY ATTENTION LOW DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY WELLNESS: SELF-CARE, BURNOUT & STRESS URBANISATION CHANGING SOCIAL MEDIA CHANGING SOCIAL HABITS: BACKLASH INFLUNCER POPULATION AGEING RISE OF THE SUBSCRIPTION ECONOMY QUITE IMPORTANT VERY IMPORTANT 13% 16% 17% 18% 21% 27% SOURCE: WARC Marketer’s Toolkit 2020 survey 33% 35% 46% 41% Brands are responding to privacy 45% 44% concerns 46% 50% 46% Data privacy concerns are expected to have the greatest impact on marketing 46% strategies globally in 2020, as consumers 46% take a more active role in managing their data and auditing who has access to it. 40% Growing consumer concern about use of their data is dovetailing with enhanced privacy regulation (see Policy chapter) to 46% make this a powerful theme for 2020. 39% 39% 35% 29% 27% 21% © Copyright WARC 2019. All rights reserved. 19% 14% SOURCE: WARC Marketer’s Toolkit 2020 survey Environmental CHANGES IN CULTURE CORPORATE AND PROCESSES concern is 57% In which areas is your driving conscious brand / are your typical clients addressing consumerism CHANGES IN MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS environmental concerns? CHANGES IN PACKAGING 47% 46% CHANGES IN PRODUCT CHANGES IN PRODUCT CHAIN AND SUPPLY The rise of conscious consumerism, 41% accelerated by high-profile campaigners such as Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion, will also be a widespread theme for 2020. A slew of surveys in 2019 has suggested CHANGES IN DISTRIBUTION AND DELIVERY consumers will reward brands that take 26% positive steps on the environment, and brands are getting the message. The survey data for this year’s Marketer’s Toolkit showed that 84% of respondents said conscious consumerism and sustainability would have significant or some impact on marketing strategy in OTHER 2020. The numbers were notably higher DON’T KNOW in Europe (48% said it would have a 8% CURRENTLY WE’RE NOT DOING ANYTHING significant impact, versus 31% in both North America and Asia). 4% 4% © Copyright WARC 2019. All rights reserved. Brands are auditing their Marketers are assessing has been trying to respond to packaging and looking their supply chains and criticism of the environmental to eliminate single-use implementing recycling- impact of its annual Singles plastic by-design Day e-commerce event. Initiatives in 2019 included the creation of 75,000 permanent Packaging, particularly use Supply chains (cited by 41% recycling stations nationally to of plastic, is a 2020 focus for of respondents to the WARC recycle cardboard and reduce nearly half of respondents to survey) will also be a 2020 the impact of consumption. the Marketer’s Toolkit survey, focus, particularly with carbon as brands look for ways to act emissions and recycling in Brands need more than on environmental concern. mind. H&M Group, the fashion purpose to ‘take a stand’ company, is looking to have a successfully In depth: For example, UK supermarket climate-neutral supply chain, chain Tesco is planning to extending through many of its remove one billion pieces of suppliers, by 2030. Given the growing consumer the Greta plastic from the products it interest in environmental sells in-store by the end of next All H&M stores around the issues, brands may be tempted year as part of its 4Rs strategy world encourage customers to double down on ‘purpose’ effect (remove, reduce, reuse or to bring unwanted garments communications. recycle). and textiles for recycling, re- wear or reuse. Customers There is risk here. A recent WARC subscribers can go deeper into the Greta effect in the Society spin-off report of The focus on packaging can use the in-store garment Edelman survey showed Marketer’s Toolkit 2020 extends to a review of the way collecting scheme to return more than half of consumers products are sold. Procter garments from any brand, thought purpose was merely & Gamble has introduced in any condition. Offering a marketing ploy rather than a packaging concept such a service is not evidence of any genuine specifically designed to reduce enough; brands may need to conviction. The same study e-commerce packaging. The incentivise customers to use pointed out that trust in a brand company is also looking at it – for example, customers is not enough. It is only when ‘refills’: it now offers some are rewarded for sustainable the three elements of product, Olay face-cream jars with refill behaviour with 10% off their customer experience and pouches on the brand website next purchase. purpose are combined that for its beauty products. brands really start to reap the This pressure is also being benefits. felt by online retail. Alibaba © Copyright WARC 2019. All rights reserved. CMO comments “ We focus on community impact, things like safe drinking water, disaster relief, gender equality, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability. Those are our pillars. Then what we do is we ask each brand to think about, ‘What is your ambition to be a force for good and a force for growth in any one of those areas that fits with your brand?’ Marc Pritchard “ CHIEF BRAND OFFICER, PROCTER & GAMBLE “ Taking a stand is important but I think As a global company, we are ensuring that’s separate… Issues like plastics in that we’re addressing environmental packaging, food waste, or nutrition in issues that have to do with the mass food transcend businesses and brands. tourism and over-tourism that we’re They are things that companies should seeing in different parts of the world.