The Marketer’s

Toolkit 2021
Navigate through uncertainty
2

In this report
The Marketer’s Toolkit 2021 is SIX CHALLENGES FOR 2021
a guide to six major challenges
facing brands in the year ahead.
Responding to recession 8
For each, it lists out the major
implications and suggests some
practical steps marketers can Staying effective in 27

take in response. the age of e-commerce

Engaging at-home consumers 48

The report is based on three inputs:

Succeeding in the closed web 66

• A global survey of 1000+ marketing executives;

• One-on-one interviews with more than 20 CMOs
and marketing leaders; Structuring for volatility 84

• A review of the latest best practice, research and

examples on WARC.

The report is built around the STEPIC methodology Finding the white space 104
developed by WARC’s parent company Ascential – in wellness
see page 6 for details.

The Marketer’s Toolkit 2021

113
Case study
Headspace offers respite and health
resources during COVID-19
With mental wellbeing a renewed
focus during COVID-19, meditation
app Headspace looked to help
professionals in heavily-affected
industries during a stressful time.
Depression and anxiety have spiked
during lockdown, and embracing a wider
social purpose has always been at the
heart of the Headspace brand.
As COVID-19 worsened and healthcare
workers battled the pandemic on
the frontlines, Headspace offered
free subscriptions to healthcare
professionals. With unemployment
rising as a result of the pandemic,
Headspace offered the same package
Finding the white space in wellness
to unemployed people through to the
end of 2020. The brand also created
a pool of mental wellness resources
specifically targeted at educators and
workplace managers to use for free
during COVID-19.
COVID-19 offered the brand the
opportunity to make a tangible
difference in the lives of users and grow
brand affinity. For its wider user base,
Headspace launched a free content
series called ‘Weathering The Storm’
in partnership with Hyatt Hotels, which
includes guided meditations, sleep, and
movement exercises aimed at relaxation
and mental wellbeing.
Source: Headspace
The Marketer’s Toolkit 2021