Finally, someone is working hard to make sure the fact that the contribution of creativity to the effectiveness of marketing campaign is well recognised.

In a report commissioned by IPA, the UK trade body and Thinkbox, who represents the television industry in the UK, has confirmed this. Based on the work collated by the Gunn Report, the campaigns that had been rewarded with the great number of accolades for their creative work were 11 times more successful in positive results in both effectiveness and efficiency.

There are more numbers for those who love statistics:

74% of the creative award scores contained in the Gunn Report were for TV spots…

44% of the creative awards were handed out to campaigns that were essentially “emotional” in character, while just 19% were “rational”…

35% of shoppers agreed they “highly liked” campaigns featured in the Gunn Report, compared with 20% who said the same for campaigns that did not attain such a status…

It is not easy to take something intangible and subjective like creativity and try to prove its tangible results. “What is the ROI with the new creative campaign?” your client may ask. It is even more difficult to judge what actually makes a marketing campaign creative. Is it the creative idea itself or in fact the innovation behind the product? (Apple Mac is a good example)

The report is, after all, great news to anyone in the creative industry, but it only gives evidence to one side of the bigger picture.

True creativity is not just a clever headline or catchy phrases; nor is it just an ad. True creativity is a dialogue with consumers and a well orchestrated plan taking the consumers on a journey from knowing the brand to building a strong lasting relationship.

For a global brand, true creativity is the ability to present the brand with a single voice all over the world while winning the heart of local consumers in the most culturally relevant way.

Like creativity itself, benefits from excellent creativity may not be easily quantifiable, but certainly can be articulated and demonstrated through real practice. Next time, don’t just talk about ROI, talk about return on creative investment!