MENA region is leveraging sustainability for effectiveness: WARC report

The MENA region is showing great opportunity for engaging on sustainability, and is making the case that a focus on sustainability – even during uncertain times – is effective.

A new report titled Sustainability in the WARC Effective 100, published by the World Advertising Research Centre (WARC) in partnership with global sustainability marketing expert Thomas Kolster, explores how sustainability work – whether defined as social or environmental – shows up in ten years of the Effective 100 Rankings (2014-24).

The research evaluates a decade of most effective campaigns – and demonstrates how sustainability punches above its weight. The report analysed 10 years of WARC Rankings Effectiveness 100 data to understand how social and environmental sustainability campaigns have changed over the years.It also identifies what sustainability messaging looks like in different regions, which categories are most active in sustainability, and showcases some of the winning work from the Effectiveness 100 rankings from 2014-2024. The report highlights common themes that emerged from the analysis and offers lessons about how to be effective in this space.

In the global research the Middle East region has 23 campaigns featured across the decade compared with North America with 73, which has the highest number of campaigns featured.

“This testament to the effectiveness of thinking outside the box and how purpose leads to more effective campaigns and increased profits,” Thomas Kolster, Founder of Goodvertising, told Campaign Middle East.

Kolster added, “Many of this decade’s most groundbreaking campaigns succeed not by exploiting people’s fleeting desires, but by boldly addressing their deeper, more profound human needs. Social sustainability and environmental sustainability campaigns cut through the noise because they dare to address what truly matters to people.”

The most highly ranked social and environmental campaigns, (Mean: 2014-2024), included:

Vodafone: How to make small seem big

Rank: 1 (2014)

Home Centre: A Dad’s Job

Rank: 2 (2022)

Lifebuoy: Help a child reach 5

Rank: 4 (2015)

From the Middle East region, children’s retailed Babyshop: Making Arab Mums More Visible in Culture – Rank: 6 (2022) was also featured in the research.

With the intent to build emotional affinity with customers and to earn the respect of Arab mothers, Babyshop reformed the Arabic word for ‘parenthood’ – which really meant ‘fatherhood’ – and created a new word that incorporated both the mother and the father, ‘Al Umobuwah.’ The word was launched on Mother’s Day with an online film, and a new clothing collection.

Following the campaign brand love was up with 42 per cent and new customers increased with 6.3 per cent. Importantly, the initial 50 per cent negative sentiments towards the word changed to positive.

As a result, the campaign successfully reached people, culture and business.

The top takeaways of the WARC research

Social sustainability themes underpin effective work: Work with a socially progressive theme shows up strongly in 10 years of the WARC Effectiveness 100. Over 10 years, a quarter (250) of awarded Effectiveness 100 campaigns had a social sustainability theme.

Female empowerment and challenging bias are key themes: Social sustainability themes prioritise female empowerment, breaking down stigmas, public health, or tackling poverty.

Fewer environmental themes across 10 years: Environmental sustainability campaigns are less prominent across the 10-year analysis. Michelob Ultra’s Contract for Change in the US, Tesco’s Unforgettable Bag in Asia and Intermarché in France are stand-out environment campaigns.

Reducing waste is a dominant environmental theme: Environmental themes prioritise reducing waste, supporting local businesses, and finding new routes to growth via the circular economy.

Toiletries, cosmetics and retail sectors lean into social issues: In Asia and North America the toiletries and cosmetics sector has the highest volume of sustainability campaigns. In Europe, the retail sector has the highest volume of sustainability campaigns across 10 years.

Highlight the customer benefit: Transform social or environmental issues into tangible benefits for your target audience. For example, Dove effectively translates the broader issue of Real Beauty into a customer benefit, such as boosting confidence.

Having a core issue, and supporting it over time, is key: Brands like Dove and SK-II see long-term success by consistently addressing social issues over time. Consistency doesn’t mean boring. Updating creative work with fresh insights keeps it relevant.

Apply creativity to find novel solutions: Use creativity to develop innovative solutions to challenges, rather than simply raising awareness about an issue. For example, Intermarché reduced food waste in the supermarket sector while Back Market created a new category.