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LIONS recently published a study into the State of Creativity, whilst Warc and Kantar also recently published a new Creative Quality study. The Effectiveness Partnership’s takes a look here at the key take-outs from these studies for those looking for Effective strategies.

The LIONS State of Creativity Study which shared insights and data from marketers and creatives across 102 countries, found 62% of respondents will primarily focus on short-term activations this year, with targeted promotions topping the priority creative investment list.

It’s a worrying but not surprisingly stat – considering the macro-economic pressures we find ourselves in. Yet time and time again there has been compelling evidence surfaced that advises against the over-reliance on short term, at the peril of the long.

In this new study however, LIONS asserts that balancing the long and the short by building brand-building devices into short-term activations is one of the four key trends identified as how to lead with creativity in 2023.

But how can it be done? For the full report go here. For the quick-fire summary check out these three strategic actions for brand-building your short-term:

1. Effectively build an online community, where there is opportunity to both build your brand and to create a home for short-term promotional activations.

2. Re-evaluate the role of social media which can offer an opportunity for brands to combine both long-term brand-building with short-term promotional mechanics. Seek out opportunities for storytelling in your short-term tactics.
3. Use entertainment to make your creative more memorable – be it long or short-term activations.

Overall, the result not surprisingly champions creativity as the key driver of effectiveness. Warc and Kantar have just managed to put a new number on it in their Creative Quality study – finding that high quality creative can deliver more than four times as much profit as low-quality creative.

Their research shows that both short-term and long-term metrics of creative quality drive ROI, but the long-term component correlates more strongly with profit ROI. Which reinforces the need for both long-term and short-term elements across ads within a campaign, regardless of immediate objectives.

Brand are therefore advised to ‘build components into all of your advertising that can work to benefit building future brand demand, regardless of singular objectives’.

Aligning on the key objectives and KPI’s and then using these to unlock creativity is a core component of The Effectiveness Partnerships roadmap to creative effectiveness.

We know that upstream organisational plans inform everything that happens below it in the organisation; but the behavioural effects of customers or consumers flow upstream into the boardroom.

So a framework that joins the dots is imperative, regardless of whether you have a brand-building believer in the boardroom, or the pressure to focus on activation is being felt throughout the marketing function. Understanding the flow of effects means you can plan for creative effectiveness.

Talk to us today about how to apply that framework into your organisation.