Don’t panic: It’s time for big creative ideas

Brands should not forgo big, creative ideas in light of a potential economic downturn.

by Marla Kaplowitz

Creativity in advertising is an important driver of business success. But, right now, there’s a danger that brands are ignoring its potential as they look for savings.

That would be a mistake. Numerous success stories demonstrate just how powerful big creative ideas can be when brands build successful partnerships with agencies.

One major point in creativity’s favor is the positive impact on profitability. “High performing, creatively-awarded campaigns are eight times more effective than their low performing peers in terms of the number of business effects they generate, and almost 16 times more likely to bring major profitability growth,” says 2019’s The Crisis in Creative Effectiveness report from the IPA.

Building on this theme, at the recent EffWorks Global 2022 event in London, effectiveness expert Les Binet called for a renewed focus on big creative thinking to keep consumers engaged with brands, and to maintain and grow profits.

“Creative is just as important as media. With outstanding creativity you can make your budget go about 11 times further,” Binet said. He encouraged marketers and agencies to “do all the mathematical stuff,” but above all, to “harness the irrational, emotional, power of creativity to make your budgets go further, get a great agency on your side.”

Recent examples support this argument. Marcel Marcondes, global chief marketing officer at AB InBev (which was named Creative Marketer of the Year at Cannes Lions 2022), spoke at the recent Association of National Advertisers conference, where he identified a strong link between the creative ideas that win the most-coveted ad industry awards and growth: “The correlation that we have today is close to 80% between the brands that have been recognized, and the brands that are driving growth for the company.”