WARC analyses Cannes Lions Creative Effectiveness campaigns 2017

WARC, the global authority on advertising and media effectiveness, has released the results of its analysis of 122 campaigns entered for the Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lions this year to establish key trends of effective advertising with powerful creative. 

Campaign budgets, media mix, campaign duration, creative approaches, metrics and regional variation are some of the factors taken into account by WARC for the insights report of the Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lions, which celebrate the measurable impact of creativity. 

“As a collection of case studies, the Creative Effectiveness Lions show how creativity is evolving. As the media landscape changes, brands are finding new ways to deploy creativity. Whether you have a multimillion-dollar marketing budget or are trying to build a brand on a shoestring, these campaigns provide benchmarks for effective advertising practice,” noted David Tiltman, WARC’s Head of Content. 

Major trends highlighted in this year’s report are:

• Online video is now a key channel for creative effectiveness and is typically used alongside social media, PR and TV. TV and online video were the most used 'lead' media among the shortlisted entries.
• Social media remains the most used channel overall, but compared with previous years it is used far less frequently as a lead channel.
• Purpose-led advertising was a major feature among the shortlisted entries, allowing several lower-budget campaigns to create global awareness and societal change.
• Emotion remains central to best-practice campaigns and its use as a creative strategy increased compared to 2016. 

Commenting on the judging process of the category, Jonathan Mildenhall, Jury President and Chief Marketing Officer at Airbnb, said, “Creative effectiveness is about impact. Is the idea impacting the brand’s audience? Is the idea impacting the brand’s business? Is the idea impacting the culture? And is the idea impacting our creative creative community through its excellence?” 

WARC’s ‘Insights from the Creative Effectiveness winners’ report includes:

•  In-depth analysis of campaign trends – video, social, purpose and emotional advertising
• Lessons from the winners, including a deep-dive on Grand Prix winner the Art Institute of Chicago’s ‘Van Gogh’s Bedrooms: Let Yourself In’
• Case studies of the Cannes Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix and best entries of 2017
• An interview with jury president Jonathan Mildenhall, Chief Marketing Officer, Airbnb
• Tips on how win a Creative Effectiveness Lion.

As part of the launch of the ‘Insights from the Creative Effectiveness winners’ report, WARC will be holding a ‘Lessons from Cannes’ event in London on Friday, August 11, where attendees will hear more on the trends summarised in the report, including an in-depth look at online video and a debate on brand purpose.