Reframing Creative Effectiveness: Ideas as Investments

Creativity is crucial to brand survival, so proving its business impact is higher up the business agenda. With budgets constantly under review, there’s more at stake than ever.

Brand-building is more effective than short-term activation goals, but brands and agencies often interpret creative effectiveness differently. Until there is a shared understanding and language around creative effectiveness across the industry, it will be challenging to prove the impact of creative work.

Components such as fame, shareability and earned media are still important metrics of measurement, yet brands are often under pressure to deliver on hard metrics, such as sales. So how can brands use creativity to engage consumers and deliver business results?

“Great brands help elevate what we want to think differently, the art of that possibility, it is what we call magnet creativity.”

Ann Mukherjee

Chairman & CEO | Pernod Ricard North America

Focus areas for 2022

Real-time feedback

Technology is transforming the way brands measure and automate ad testing. This advance has brought consumer feedback to the front of ad development. The industry needs to take advantage of this insight and channel it into producing ads more confidently.

Long-tail creativity

Ideas are investments. However, brands and agencies need to be aligned on the direction of the creative for them to be effective. Is the work authentic to the brand and its values? Will it serve the brand well over time? These are the questions that need to be front of mind before committing to long-tail creativity.

Maximise creative impact

Use creativity to speak to world-wide issues that humanise the brand. This human lens will help consumers to resonate and connect with your purpose. This level of understanding maximises the value of your creative beyond its digital metrics.

DREAM CRAZY | NIKE | WIEDEN+KENNEDY PORTLAND | THE ENTERTAINMENT LIONS FOR SPORTS & TITANIUM LIONS GRAND PRIX

Progress in play from the 2020/21 Lion winners …

Nike’s ‘Dream Crazy’ implored us to dream big. It revealed a collection of athletes’ stories with the same message: leverage the power of sport to move the world forward.

Check out the full campaign on The Work.

DREAM CRAZY | NIKE WIEDEN+KENNEDY PORTLAND

THE ENTERTAINMENT LIONS FOR SPORTS & TITANIUM LIONS GRAND PRIX

THE TIME WE HAVE LEFT | PERNOD RICARD. LEO BURNETT MADRID

CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS LIONS GOLD

Further Insight

Convincing stakeholders to invest in creativity is the biggest challenge both brands (41%) and creative partners (56%) face today. For brands, the second biggest challenge is measuring creative effectiveness (39%), followed by developing breakthrough ideas (39%). For non-brands, the second biggest challenge is producing creative work quickly enough (33%), followed by measuring creative effectiveness (28%).

LIONS State of Creativity Survey | 2022

Thought starters for today

  • Reconsider what success metrics look like for you. What exactly are you measuring and is it aligned with the business objectives?
  • Fine-tune your messaging to show your audience that you understand the world they are living in today. This will help them to resonate and connect with the brand in a more meaningful way.
  • Be authentic to the brand. Consider how you can blend your art and messaging to create a holistic view of the brand. Commit to long-term creativity.
  • Creative effectiveness requires a balance of short-term realities and a long-term perspective on what is necessary to build a brand. “If we take a long-term view, we will know, of course, that eventually growth will turn to profit.” - Peter Field, Peter Field Consulting