New study shows correlation between advertising creativity and business success

The IPA and Thinkbox have published a new study highlighting the direct correlation between strong advertising creativity and business success.

The study, carried out in conjunction with the Gunn Report, reveals that pound for pound, creativity makes ad campaigns more efficient; on average, creatively awarded campaigns (ie in major awards competitions recognised by The Gunn Report) are at least 11 times more efficient.

The research, undertaken by independent marketing consultant Peter Field, analysed the correlation between campaigns’ performance across a wide range of the worlds’ most respected creative awards determined by The Gunn Report, and their performance in hard business terms recorded in the IPA Effectiveness Awards Databank between 2000 and 2008.

Other key findings include:

• The vast majority of Gunn Report creative award scores (74%) are for TV commercials, showing that TV creativity is at the heart of the success of these campaigns. The remaining scores cover press and online.
• Creatively awarded campaigns are much more likely to be ’emotional’ than ‘rational’ (44% vs. 19%). This partly explains the prevalence of TV in creatively awarded campaigns as TV creates emotion better than other media (source: ‘Marketing in the Era of Accountability’, IPA).
• Investing in creativity is a powerful way to achieve fame (ie buzz). The study shows that brands can buy awareness but not fame; fame is proven to be at the heart of the most effective advertising (source: ‘Marketing in the Era of Accountability’, IPA).

Neil Simpson, chairman of the IPA Value of Advertising Group and CEO of Publicis, said: “Each IPA Effectiveness Award competition has long provided succour to the creative community and creatively-minded clients when its awards have gone to such critically acclaimed advertisers such as Stella Artois, Levis and Honda.

“Their multiplier effects have also been discussed and written about by a number of Convenors of Judges. What we have now is the weight of eight years of statistical evidence and an exciting, and very tangible, set of findings to provide food for thought for all advertisers.”

David Brennan, research and strategy director at Thinkbox, said: “It is tricky to take something intangible and subjective like creativity and show its tangible results, but by bringing these two world class award schemes together we have managed to do just that.

“We knew anecdotally that strong creativity leads to success, but to finally prove the link should be great news for advertisers and their agencies, and should hopefully help unlock more creativity and more success.”