The Creative Edge, by Tim Broadbent How Creativity Increases Marketing Effectiveness Increases your Communications.

1. The Creative Edge
How Creativity Increases
Marketing Effectiveness
Ogilvy & Mather

2. The Creative Edge
How Creativity Increases
Marketing Effectiveness
Tim Broadbent

3. TOUGH TIMES AHEAD FOR MARKETING creativity increases ad recall4. Eye tracking research has shown that creativity more
than doubles consumers` attention to the advertised brand and increases brand
The International Monetary Fund predicts lower Asian growth in 2011. Virtually all recall5. But these are just research scores. Now we can quantify the benefit of
Asian economies are expected to grow more slowly than last year. creativity in hard business terms.
The implication is clear. Effectiveness alone is not enough. Creativity gives a turbo
2011: Slower Asian economic growth boost to effective campaigns, leaving effective-but-not-creative campaigns behind
in the dust. Especially in tough times, marketers need to exploit the power of
Real GDP growth, 2010 vs. 2011 creativity.
% change
12
10 MEASURING CREATIVITY`S VALUE
8
The new research merged two databases:
6
a) The Gunn Report lists all major creative awards globally, regionally and
4 nationally.
2 b) The IPA Effectiveness Awards were founded in 1980 and are still going strong.
There are more than 1,400 effective marketing campaigns from the UK and
0
global in the IPA dataBank, by far the largest collection of effectiveness case
histories in the world.
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The merger created three cells:
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2010 2011 Proving creativity sells
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook, October 2010
*Singapore growth off the chart: 15.0% in 2010
This is bad news for marketers. Budgets may fall. In the 2008-09 recession, the global
economy shrank by less than 1% but global marketing spend was cut by around 10%.
Marketing budgets can be first under the axe when firms reduce their growth forecasts. Won effectiveness
Won creative award Won both
award
HOW TO GET MORE FOR LESS
If budgets come under pressure, marketers need better results for less. There is a
way. New research has shown there is an `X factor` that boosts the effectiveness of
marketing communications by 11 times for the same weight.
To be totally clear about this: campaigns with the X factor grow market share by 5.7%
points per unit of communications weight. However, campaigns without it grow The first question is, do campaigns that win both creative and effectiveness awards
market share by only 0.5% points per unit of communications weight. outsell campaigns that only win effectiveness awards? The answer is yes, by the huge
margin of 11 times more per unit weight.
What is the X factor? Creativity. Effective campaigns that win creative awards grow
market share 11 times more than effective campaigns that do not win creative awards1. The second question is, in what ways are those campaigns different from other
effective campaigns, so we can do more like that next time? It turns out there are
This is a major advance on previous research. It has been shown in the past that two key indicators of creativity. Creative-and-effective campaigns are more likely
consumers like creative campaigns more, both in the West2 and in Asia3, and that a) to appeal to the emotions, and b) create more brand buzz.
1
The Link Between Creativity and Effectiveness, IPA, 2010 4
Till, Brian D, and Baack, Daniel, W: Recall and Persuasion, Does Creative Advertising Matter?, Journal of Advertising, Fall
2
Stone, Gerald; Besser, Donna; Lewis, Loran E: Recall, Liking and Creativity, Journal of Advertising Research, 2005
May/June 2000
5
Pieters, Rik; Warlop, Luk; Wiedel, Michel: Breaking Through the Clutter: Benefits of Advertisement Originality and Familiarity for
3
Ang, Swee Hoon and Yow, Sharon Y M: Exploring the Dimensions of Ad Creativity, Psychology & Marketing, October 2000 Brand Attention and Memory, Management Science, June 2002
2 3

4. LOGIC PERSUADES BUT EMOTIONS MOTIVATE Emotive campaigns 2X more profitable
The link between emotional appeal and campaign effectiveness has been known
since a study compared winners at the US Effies and One Show6. But now we can Effect on profit, emotional vs. persuasive
quantify how marketers benefit from emotional campaigns in hard business terms. % of 30
Emotive campaigns are more likely to build the brand than persuasive campaigns, campaigns
whether in terms of brand commitment, or brand differentiation, or brand image. 25
20
Emotive campaigns build the brand
15
% of Effect on brand, emotional vs. persuasive 10
campaigns
25
5
20
0
15 Emotional campaigns Persuasive campaigns
10 Source: Binet, Les and Field, Peter: Marketing in the Era of Accountability, WARC, 2007
5
Emotive campaigns exploit what has been called the `hidden power` of advertising7.
Most brand learning is not actively processed. We tend to pay little attention to
0 brand communications. Instead, we use shallow or `low attention` processing.
Brand commitment Brand differentiation Brand image When we choose between brands, our choices are often driven by markers created
by past emotional experiences or leaning.
Emotional campaigns Persuasive campaigns
Source: Binet, Les and Field, Peter: Marketing in the Era of Accountability, WARC, 2007 Creative juries are more likely to award emotive campaigns. They have been
criticized for this, but in fact their instincts seem sound. Emotive campaigns are
much more likely to strengthen the brand and increase profits. They do better for the
It is no surprise, then, that emotive campaigns are twice as likely to increase profits as client. They deserve to win.
persuasive campaigns.
BRAND BUzz MAKES EXTRA PROFIT
Creative campaigns generate free PR. In the new communications age of consumer-
generated content and social media, this benefit is multiplied many times over. A
study suggested that in many categories today, the `single most powerful impetus to
buy is someone else`s advocacy`. A product that get weak online reviews or, worse,
isn`t even discussed online, is `unlikely to survive the winnowing process`8.
It is important to distinguish between Brand Fame, the result of buzz, and Brand
Awareness. Awareness can be bought: brands that spend more are likely to achieve
higher awareness. But Brand Fame does not depend on high spending. It reflects
the brand`s status in its category. A famous brand is perceived as the category
leader. It is seen as the most authoritative brand and defines the category in
perception.
6
Kover, Arthur J; Goldberg, Stephen M; James, William L: Creativity vs. Effectiveness, An Integrated Classification for 7
Heath, Robert: The Hidden Power of Advertising, Admap Publications, 2001, 2007
Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, Nov/Dec 1995 8
Edelman, David C: Branding in the Digital Age, Harvard Business Review, December 2010
4 5

5. Brand Fame derives from the creativity of the brand`s communications, not its Ogilvy’s effective AND creative campaigns
weight. A famous campaign is one that is seen to be making waves. It generates
strong opinions (not necessarily liking). Online, it gets discussed in chat groups, Audi Hutch (Ranga) Nature’s Gift Vodafone
forums and Twitter; Facebook groups emerge, loving the campaign; it gets searched (Chola)
on Google and other engines; and it gets imitated on YouTube. Offline, it gets cited
Bajaj Hutch (Boy) PX Mart Vodafone
in news stories, editorials and articles; it gets discussed on chat shows and spoofed (Happy)
on comedy shows; and other marketers imitate it.
Bingo K SME SBI Vodafone
(Surprisingly) (Zooszoos)
Fame is more valuable than Awareness. Fame campaigns outperform Awareness
campaigns on all business metrics: profit, sales, market share, penetration and loyalty. Cadbury Limca SBI (Couple) WWF
Fame campaigns are three times more profitable than persuasive campaigns. Coca-Cola Mentos Tata Yahoo!
Fevicol Motorola Thai Life
Fame campaigns 3X more profitable Hospice MSIG Titan
Association
Effect on profit, Fame vs. persuasive From: India, China, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand
% of 40 Base: Won effectiveness AND creative awards, 2006- 2010
campaigns
35
30 Analysis shows these campaigns work in the same way as the Gunn/IPA campaigns,
just more so. They share the same indicators: they are more likely to be emotional
25 and to generate brand buzz.
20
15 Emotions sell harder in Asia
10
Emotional vs. rational effective campaigns
5 % of
80
campaigns
0
70
Fame campaigns Persuasive campaigns
60
Source: Binet, Les and Field, Peter: Marketing in the Era of Accountability, WARC, 2007 50
40
30
OK, but does this research apply in Asia?
20
Yes, we believe it does. 10
Ogilvy & Mather wins three times more effectiveness awards in Asia than the 0
next best agency. It also wins the most creative awards. Ogilvy therefore has the Emotional Combined Rationale
biggest pool of creative-and-effective campaigns in the region. Around 30 Ogilvy
campaigns have won both kinds of awards in recent years. UK/Global Asia
Source: Ogilvy research, 2010; IPA, 2010
6 7

6. More campaign buzz in Asia This gene is related to socioemotional sensitivity: people with this particular
gene are more likely to be sensitive to their social environment. People with a
different version of the gene are more likely to value independence and individual
Campaigns creating large brand buzz achievement over the well being of the group10.
% of 100
campaigns
90
Individualism-Collectivism in Asia vs. the West
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
UK/Global Asia
Source: Ogilvy research, 2010; IPA, 2010
Base: Note IPA % only for campaigns with ‘very large’ business effects; Asia % for all effective campaigns
If creativity works the same way in Asia as in the West, and it seems to, we have
reason to trust the other findings of the Gunn/IPA research. In particular, that
creativity grows market share 11 times more.
Source: Chiao, Joan Y, and Blinzinsky, Katherine D: Culture-Gene Cosvolution of Individualism-Collectivism and
WHY EMOTIONS AND BUzz ARE STRONGER IN ASIA: THE SCIENCE the Serotonin Transporter Cans, Proceedings of the Royal Society, October 2009
Key: Grey = no published data
Ogilvy`s analysis suggests creative-and-effective campaigns in Asia are more likely to
be emotional and more likely to create brand buzz than their Western counterparts.
Why? Science suggests consumers respond differently in Asia. There are two implications for marketers. The first is that rational, product-based
campaigns are less likely to be effective in Asia, as our consumers are more likely to
Psychological studies suggest patterns of attention and perception may differ make emotive and collective connections. The second is that Asians are more likely
between East Asians and Westerners. It is the difference between Socrates and to share interesting campaigns with their group, as groups have greater significance
Aristotle on the one hand, and the Buddha and Confucius on the other; the than in the individualistic West. This may explain why Ogilvy`s creative-and-
difference between individualism and collectivism. effective Asian campaigns work like the Western IPA/Gunn campaigns, only even
more so.
East Asians seem more likely to detect relationships, to perceive an object holistically
in an environment, and to seek a socially unifying Middle Way. Westerners may
attend more to discrete objects and logic, but for many Asians, `To think about an WHY ARE SO MANY ASIAN CAMPAIGNS INAPPROPRIATE?
object or event in isolation and apply abstract rules to it is to invite extreme and
mistaken conclusions`9. It is curious that so many Asian campaigns do not seem to reflect these cultural,
psychological and physiological differences. Campaigns in Asia are more likely to
Intriguingly, new brain research suggests these cultural and psychological differences use rational products demos, and less likely to appeal to the emotions, than Western
may have a corresponding physical basis. There is something called a serotonin campaigns. This is the opposite of what we would expect to be effective in Asia,
transporter gene in every brain. It comes in three different kinds. It turns out that and what we do in fact find to be effective. When designing campaigns for Asian
one kind – technically, the 5-HTTLPR gene – is not distributed equally around the consumers, marketers would do well to resist the usual.
world. Two-thirds of East Asians have it, as against only one-fifth of Westerners.
9
Nisbett, Richard: The Geography of Thought, How Asians and Westerners Think Differently… and Why, Nicholas Brealey, 9
Lieberman, Matthew: What Makes Big Ideas Sticky?, in Brockman, Max (ed.): What`s Next?, Dispatches on the Future
2005, 2009 of Science, Quercus, 2009
8 9

7. Ineffective Asian campaigns? Asians more advertising literate
Incidence of campaign types, Asia vs. West Number of TV commercials viewed per week
% of 60 700
campaigns
50 600
500
40
400
30
300
20
200
10 100
0 0
Product benefit campaigns Emotive campaigns US/Europe Asia
Asia US/Europe Source: Millward Brown, Advertising in China (undated)
Base: Asia = Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam
Source: Millward Brown, Advertising in China (undated)
Myth two. Some argue that TV is the best medium for communicating basic
Asia has readily adopted new media channels, such as online and mobile marketing. product information in developing markets. However, today`s multi-channel
In many cases, Asians have leapfrogged the West. The marketing challenge is to campaigns may offer better options than TV.
make the creative content as contemporary and innovative as the channels used.
An average effective campaign these days uses seven media channels, judging
Why are so many Asian campaigns inappropriate for Asians? There seem to be three by entries to both the 2010 IPA Effectiveness Awards and the 2010 WARC
myths. Effectiveness Prize. This is a steep increase on the three channels used in effective
campaigns in the 1990s, and reflects the explosive growth of digital and social
Myth one. Some argue for product demo campaigns because they believe media. Co-ordinating campaign messaging across channels has never been more
consumers in developing countries are less advertising literate than in the West. difficult, or more important.
Not so. In fact, Asians see 55% more TV commercials per week than Westerners on
average. For instance, consumers in the UK see 293 commercials per week, while Developing channel architecture requires an understanding of the customer
Chinese consumers see 600, and Indonesians see 1,000. journey and of the role each channel plays in bringing about the desired change in
consumer behaviour. It may turn out that TV is not the best choice for conveying
product information. Typically, consumers use TV mostly for entertainment, while
the internet is mostly used for information; and TV advertising is mostly processed
at low attention levels, while print and the internet are processed at high attention
levels. Other channels might do the product information job better, for instance
packaging, in-store at point of purchase, print and social media such as chat rooms
and user blogs.
Ogilvy has developed a new, sophisticated cross-discipline planning system that
delivers deeply integrated creative work across the most appropriate channels11.
11
Please contact Tim Isaac (tim.isaac@ogilvy.com) or Paul Heath (paul.heath@ogilvy.com) for more information
about Ogilvy`s new system, or for a copy of Broadbent, Tim: A New Approach to Campaign Integration, Admap,
January 2011
10 11

8. Myth three. Some say Asians are less creative than Westerners, or do not respond
to creativity in the same way. This belief appears to be based on now discredited
psychological studies, for instance studies that did not compare like with like, or
that did not allow for inherent verbal bias in some American-created tests.
Recent academic research has challenged the old prejudice. One study found that
creativity was evaluated in the same way in China, Japan and the US12. The Chinese
in particular seem to appreciate novelty, which supports the case for dynamic,
path-breaking creativity. Another study found no differences between how Chinese
and Americans judge creativity13. So the best evidence available today suggests
Asians and Westerners respond to creativity in the same way.
Ogilvy finds creativity is every bit as pervasive in Asia as it is in the West, if not
more so. Asians use creativity in myriad ways: to solve problems innovatively, to
maximise their often limited resources, to express their collective identity, and often
for profit. Ogilvy will publish a book this year, Commonsense and Bravery - everyday
creativity in Asia, a celebration of the creative spirit of ordinary people and businesses,
and please see our website, www.braver.asia. They lay out the evidence that some
of the best creative ideas are born out of collectivism, not individualism. Here are
some tasters of images from the book.
Copy goes here
Copy goes here
12
Paletz, Susannah and Peng, Kaiping: Implicit Theories of Creativity Across Cultures, Journal of Cross-Cultural
Psychology 39, 2008
13
Chen, Chuansheng; Kasof, Joseph; Himsel, Amy; Greenberger, Ellen; Dong, Qi; Xue, Gui: Creativity in
Drawings of Geometric Shapes, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 33, 2002
12 13

9. Copy goes here Copy goes here
Copy goes here Copy goes here
14 15

10. EXPLOITING THE CREATIVE GAP IN ASIA 2. Is your creative approval process streamlined?
You could take a long, cool look at your firm`s approval process. How many people
Asia lags far behind the West in winning creative awards. Product demo ads can win and layers does a creative product have to go through internally before it gets made?
creative awards but few do. How many people and layers can only say `No`? Creative ideas can easily be strangled
by overly cautious committees.
West wins 2X more creative awards Our own David Ogilvy liked to quote a short verse in this connection:
Search the parks in all the cities
Creative awards per country You`ll find no statues to committees
120
3. Does your firm appreciate the importance of production values?
100 Your consumers probably do. High production values send a signal. They signal that
you have confidence in the superiority of your brand. High production values are
80 known to produce more favourable brand perceptions , just as the extravagance of a
peacock`s feathers signals that the bird has healthy genes.
60
4. Do you incentivise your agency for creativity?
40
Behavioural economics shows that practically all behaviour in business can be
20 explained by incentives. If you congratulate your agency on winning creative awards
and make winning them part of the bonus package, it will try even harder. But if you
0 treat creative awards with indifference, so will your agency (at least on your account).
US/Europe Asia
5. Do you practice `pervasive creativity`?
Source: The Gunn Report, The 25 Most Awarded Countries in the World 2009 Creativity does not live just in the creative department. You will get a more creative
Base: Asia = Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Singapore, Taiwan product if every stage of the development process stimulates and inspires: from the
marketing brief, to the creative brief, to the research, to the pre-production meeting.
Every contact with the agency is an opportunity to challenge it to do better creative
work.
This is an unexploited opportunity. Asian marketers who encourage their agency to win
creative awards can expect 11 times more market share growth than those who do not.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
FIVE BARRIERS TO PRODUCING BETTER CREATIVE WORK AND HOW Effectiveness alone is not enough: effectiveness plus creativity delivers 11 times more
TO OVERCOME THEM market share growth. To maximise campaign potential, marketers must use creativity to
exploit the power of emotions and stimulate brand buzz. There is less competition for
1. Is your pre-testing system obsolete? creative campaigns in Asia, where product demos predominate. Yet Asians are highly
The purpose of quantitative pre-testing research is to judge whether the campaign will advertising literate and at least as responsive to creativity as Westerners, if not more so.
be effective. But now we know that is not good enough. Effective campaigns that are The opportunity is there. Firms may need to review and, if necessary, change their
also creative sell 11 times harder. Does your pre-test system encourage creativity or stifle internal processes to take advantage.
it? It`s easy to find out.
This is a message of opportunity. Marketers can get more for less. Encouraging
You could ask your research supplier for, say, the 10 best-scoring campaigns it has ever creativity will multiply the value of each media dollar.
tested. Review them with your agency`s creative director. How many of them, if any,
have won creative awards?
You could also ask your agency`s creative director about the feedback from the research
company. Does it inspire and stimulate, or does it reinforce creative mediocrity?
14
Dahlen, Micael; Rosengren, Sara; Torn, Fredrik: Advertising Creativity Matters, Journal of Advertising Research 48/3, 2008
16 17

11. © Ogilvy & Mather, 2011