Marketing research you need to know for 2027

We're digging into new effectiveness research, including new thinking on brand coherence, the resurgence of 'ad awareness' and how to get the most out of sports sponsorships, recorded live at the IPA Effectiveness conference in London. Hosted by WARC's Anna Hamill.

Guests:
Orlando Wood, Chief Creative Officer, System1
Paul Simonet, The Whole Brained Marketer
Rory Natkiel, Founder of Box Count & Chair of the Sponsorship Effectiveness Forum
Claire Humphris, Chief Marketing Officer, British Cycling
Caitlin McRoy, Senior Sponsorship Manager at Sage
Nic Pietersma, Group Director of Analytics, Ebiquity
Anthony Jones, Head of Research, Thinkbox
Jane Christian, EVP - Analytics, WPP Media UK
Anna Hamill, Senior Editor, The WARC Podcast

Chapters:
[00:00] Intro: Live at the IPA Effectiveness Conference
[01:29] Creative coherence: putting brands back on top
[04:57] How the LLM model evaluates brand characteristics
[07:14] Coherent brand character: examples from Red Bull, Guinness, and Cadbury
[11:38] Brand coherence in an AI-driven world
[17:39] Why ad awareness deserves a closer look
[19:41] Ad awareness versus brand awareness
[23:27] Research findings: ad awareness, consideration, and causality
[28:00] Category differences and planning media to drive awareness
[34:45] The sponsorship effectiveness gap
[38:10] Sage’s approach: connecting sponsorship to broader brand goals
[40:18] Three practices for effective sponsorship measurement
[44:04] Long-term partnerships, flexibility, and creative platforms
[47:45] Lessons learned, and research resources

For 40 years, WARC has been providing the marketing industry with rigorous, unbiased evidence and expert effectiveness guidance. The WARC Podcast publishes a new episode every Tuesday and Thursday.

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