How social strategy can drive business results
Four things to take from the Seriously Social 2014 report
1. Cause trumps story
Analysis of social-driven case studies by marketing consultant, Peter Field, indicates that
cause-led strategies have an effectiveness advantage over story-led strategies. There is
evidence to suggest that linking a brand with a broader purpose or cause can be a
powerful approach. However, there is no evidence that 'grassroots' campaigns are any
more or less effective than 'top-down' campaigns.
2. Emotion is key to long-term success
Social strategy can be a potent long-term brand-building tool if used as such with
emotional creative approaches. Social media is often used as a short-term activation tool,
but this may not be the best approach.
3. Social strategy should be multi-channel
Social strategy is best executed with a wide range of channels, not social media alone.
The optimum number of channels in the case studies in this analysis is around eight.
4. Social media works best as a support
There is evidence to suggest that social media should not act as the lead channel in a
campaign. Social media activity should support brand strategy and be integrated with it.
Standalone social media strategies are not recommended.
Report summary
This report is an analysis of the world's best social strategy. It is based on leading case studies
that demonstrate a link between social impact ('earned media') and a bigger impact on the brand.
In April 2014, Warc announced the winners of the inaugural Warc Prize for Social Strategy. This
was a global search for 'social ideas that drive business results'; campaigns that not only got
people talking and sharing, but also made a difference to a brand's core metrics.
'Social strategy' was defined as any marketing activity designed to generate conversation,
participation, sharing or advocacy. Social strategy is at the heart of modern communications
strategy, as brands look to harness the potential of new technology platforms.
This analysis, produced by marketing consultant Peter Field, is based on the 37 case studies that
were shortlisted for the Prize. It uses the tagging data applied to the case studies by Warc when
they were published on www.warc.com, plus extra analysis by Field.
The first step in analysing the cases was to develop different 'models' of social strategy that
could be applied to the campaigns in the competition (Chapter 1). The cases were segmented in
two ways:

Whether they were top-down (based on brand-generated content) or bottom-up (based
on consumer-generated content); Whether the nature of the content was cause-driven
(linking the brand to worthy social outcomes) or brand-driven (telling an engaging story
about the brand).

This allowed the creation of four 'quadrants' (chart below). Quadrant 1 reflects traditional
communications practice: a brand story told using brand owner content. Not surprisingly
this is the most common approach among shortlisted cases. Quadrant 2 is the next most
common. Quadrants 3 and 4 (cause-driven) represent emerging practice for commercial
'for-profit' brands, but are inevitably commonplace for not-for-profits: each quadrant
accounts for 17% of cases.
A topline analysis of the prizes won by cases in each quadrant suggests that Quadrant 4 (topdown cases linked to a bigger cause) offers exciting potential for brands.
Closer analysis of top-down versus bottom-up campaigns (Chapter 2) suggests that brands
make significantly different media selections depending on which of the two strategies they are
following. In particular, bottom-up strategies are more likely to make use of 'activation' media
such as POP and promotions.
This pattern is consistent with the longer-term nature of bottom-up campaigns: they take time to
gather momentum. For that reason they must make greater use of activation media to drive
short-term effects.
Despite the differences in media approach, there is no evidence that bottom-up strategies are
more effective than traditional top-down ones. Given their similar use of media, nor does it
appear that bottom-up strategies are able to enjoy a greater 'free ride' of earned media.
The Doritos Mariachi campaign took the Warc Prize for Social Strategy Grand Prix with a
strong content offering
Cause-driven strategies shine
The same analysis can be performed on cause-driven versus brand-driven campaigns (Chapter
3).
Conventional brand story campaigns make wider use of media channels and, because they are
more likely to be short-term campaigns, include much activation. Interestingly, there is also some
evidence in these cases that using cause-driven social campaigns is more effective than using
social-driven brand story campaigns.
Cause-driven campaigns are associated with greater numbers of business effects. The business
effectiveness of cause driven-campaigns also increases markedly over time, whereas that of
brand story campaigns does not, a reflection of the short-term outlook of the latter.
The report takes a closer look at the drivers of effectiveness, both in the short term and the long
term (Chapter 4). It concludes that social media appears to be a potent tool for long-term brandbuilding, if used as such and not squandered as a shortterm activation channel.
Emotion and story-telling are the most successful creative approaches for social strategies, just
as they are for campaigns in general. The key contribution of social media is the ability for
consumers to share their enthusiasm for content and pass it along, rather than to generate it.
The role of social media
Finally, the report looks specifically at the role of social media within the broader context of social
strategy (Chapter 5). Comparison of the hard business effects displayed by the case studies,
and the number of channels used alongside social, appears to show an optimum number of
around eight – too many channels, and resources become dissipated; too few channels, and the
multiplier effects of multi-channel campaigns are weakened.
The analysis also suggests that social media may be used most effectively as a support medium,
rather than as a lead medium.
To conclude, it is not wise to think of "social media strategy" in isolation – it is best to devise a
brand strategy capable of driving powerful social effects, led by whichever channel is most
appropriate for the brand strategy, and then supported by social media activity.
Viewpoint: Raising the bar
Neil Dawson is Chief Strategy Officer, Europe at SapientNitro
It is clear that the jury is still out on social. While it is too all-pervasive to ignore, its
commercial effectiveness is still frequently questioned.
The tendency of social advocates to celebrate measures such as 'likes' or retweets as ends in
themselves has led to scepticism – as has the embracing of 'engagement' as a universal, catchall term for something that no one can really define or explain. There is a pervading sense that
social is something all brands should do, without a commercial rationale.
The primary reason that the Warc Prize for Social Strategy exists is to prove that social drives
commercial value – that interaction, talking and sharing impacts brands. The winners address the
sceptics head-on. There's a lot here for social advocates too – not least inspiration for how to
translate social impact into commercial value, and equally importantly how to measure that value.
This sceptism is not dissimilar to that which prompted the launch of the first IPA Advertising
Effectiveness Awards in 1980. If anything the challenge of proving the commercial value of social
is greater. At least advertising's sceptics believed that half of their budget was working (they just
couldn't determine which), and advertising then also typically claimed a dominant share of a
much less complex marketing mix. Nevertheless there is much that social can learn from the
measurement disciplines that have been fuelled by the IPA Awards, in particular the isolation of
effects and the forensic treatment of other factors impacting on sales and behavioural change.
Certainly there was some great thinking on show – almost without exception across all entries
there was something to inspire – but some failed to go the extra mile to convincingly establish
commercial or behavioural impact and ROI. This is what separated the winners from the rest,
creating an excellent bank of case histories to help convince even the most sceptical that 'social
works'.
Finally a few specific take-outs:

Social can play many different roles and is most effective when part of a broader brand
experience; it should not be treated as a separate silo or entity, and effectiveness is
delivered by highly connected thinking and execution.

Some entrants fell into the trap of ignoring other factors and claiming that everything is
down to social. Isolating the effect of social within a mix can be done – Mini's rigorous
measurement and analysis of the contribution of social to success is a great example of
this.

Social isn't just about digital, as Doritos clearly demonstrates with content being
delivered via broadcast and physical experience.

Doritos also shows that if you seek interaction you have to have something interesting to
offer, and this is unlikely to be your brand message – many of the winning ideas
delivered by being intrinsically social.

Storytelling is evolving. People don't want to be told a story, they want to participate and
share in it. For example, Mercedes #YouDrive allowed people to direct the narrative
using a hashtag.
Viewpoint: Integrative idea, social brands
Faris Yakob is the co-founder of Genius Steals, a strategy and innovation consultancy. This is an extract from a
post on his blog, Genius Steals
What stood out to me, across the winning entries to The Warc Prize for Social Strategy,
was that 'social' was an understanding on how the world is now. Social is the backbone of
truly integrative ideas, where each component has a role and feeds the others, which in
concert drive business results.
The Doritos 'Mariachi' work took the Grand Prix. This was a strong content play: a Mariachi
cover band that could appeal to a broad spread of audiences went on tour. Television drove
awareness of the idea, and the tour itself became a content generation engine, distributed at
appropriate apertures – moments and platforms. They understood that there is no conversation
without content – talking about products endlessly is from an older age. Every element and
department must work together seamlessly. Content that performs well in social should be
amplified. They measured the total reach achieved (television levels at a fraction of the cost) and
could demonstrate the sales impact.
The Mercedes A-Class #YouDrive campaign was a collaboration between four agencies. The
idea demonstrated an understanding of media as one system: social interaction drove the
broadcast spot in real time. Active interaction drives consideration – not the other way around. As
Yves Behar has said, participation is the new loyalty. Engagement is a function of cross-platform
– transmedia – storytelling. Behaviour is more impactful than messaging. Launched via video
trailer on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, YouDrive allowed consumers to direct the narrative
using their preferred hashtag to drive how the story ended.
The campaign understood that people aren't naturally interested in brand content – it gave them
a reason to be interested. The interaction of broadcast and interactive engagement made the
campaign work.
All communication ideas should be developed this way. Nurturing, growing, testing, engaging
and then leveraging ideas that emerge from the rich protean substrate of social; planting them in
the relatively stable environments of traditional media, where the passive can enjoy the
engagement of the active. Born online, broadened in broadcast.
Social strategy is not really about hashtags or Facebook – it's about finding ways to interest
people in your ideas. Interest them enough to interact in some way. Interest them enough to
allow your brand to move through their streams. Social strategy is about understanding the
mediascape as it flows now rather than how it used to be delineated. All media are inherently
social – they are conduits for ideas between people. What has changed is that brands now need
to behave socially, being entertaining, responsive, addressing unspoken needs and customer
concerns. Being social as a brand doesn't come naturally, they are used to being heard and not
spoken to, which suggests a robust ongoing role for their agencies.
Viewpoint: Four criteria for social success
Molly Flatt is social business director at word-of-mouth agency 1000heads
What does a good social strategy look like?
As one of the judges of the Warc Prize for Social Strategy, I had four criteria to define social
success. Does this strategy use social channels in a uniquely appropriate and/or innovative way?
Does it spring from an idea that is inherently conversational? Does it generate enough emotional
advocacy to achieve behaviour change? And is it the product of a company that 'is' social, rather
than one that 'does' social to win awards?
Let's examine the first. Saatchi & Saatchi's ASB 'Like Loan' campaign, which won a Gold
Award, used the power of group-buying to create the world's first home loan rate powered by
likes. It's a great example of a brand using a uniquely social technology to game-change a riskaverse industry. Making an expensive video and slapping it on YouTube – a common tactic for
weaker entries – is not.
And what about the small matter of an inherently social idea? What we're looking for here is a
concept that makes people talk, a spark that builds relationships, a story that inspires others to
tell their own. A strong example is the Silver Awardwinning 'Animal Strike' by DDB Group New
Zealand for Paw Justice.
The opposite of this is a brand pumping out a smorgasbord of content – Facebook posts, Twitter
Q&As, blogger outreach, hashtags – at great volume but without a single coherent, emotional
centre that will turn a marketing drive into a movement that others want to own and share.
Thirdly, behaviour change. It's no coincidence that the Doritos case study scooped the Grand
Prix. With its mix of metrics encompassing reach, engagement, sentiment, intent to purchase,
shift in demographics of Facebook followers and, yes, sales figures, it was a refreshingly
sophisticated definition of social value in an industry that remains over-reliant on views, follows
and likes.
The fact is, if you want massive exposure, you might as well just pay for a Facebook ad or put up
a billboard. The superpower of social media is not exposure; it's influence. Did your audience do
anything more taxing than clicking on a button or typing a smiley face? Did they create their own
content and translate the spirit of your campaign into their own lives and words? Tracking
emotional impact and consumer action is an essential indicator of social success.
Finally, a great campaign should be just one manifestation of a brand's commitment to a lifelong
relationship with its consumers (not to mention partners, stakeholders and staff). Running shoe
brand Mizuno's Mezamashii Run Project stemmed from a deep respect for existing online
running communities and involved the company being publicly honest about its challenges and
mistakes, resulting in an ongoing conversation between equals rather than a short-lived
marketing stunt.
This is the summary version of Seriously Social 2014, a Warc Trends Report. Download the full
version