Advertising works is the core message of Thursday’s launch of the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland’s effectiveness report, and, to silence potential cynics with their “well they would say that wouldn’t that” retort, the body has done the research and crunched the numbers to make its case.
Every year it runs the ADFX awards – a hotly contested industry competition where entrants can’t simply submit the creative side of the campaign, but must also produce data to show it worked.
This new report takes some of those award-winning case studies to examine the link between commercial pay back, media investment and creativity. And there were some powerful campaigns to reference, such the Bulmer's Nothing Added But Time campaign, which transformed a non-performing, poorly regarded brand from 1 per cent of the long alcoholic drinks market to over 10 per cent between 1990 and 2005; garden mower company Husqvarna's decision in the face of falling sales in 2010 to pump €35,000 into a promotion that achieved a sales rise of €1.5 million; and in the not-for-profit sector the Jack & Jill Foundation raised €450,000 in three months for a marketing communications investment of €45,000.
The report is to help account managers in agencies better make their case to clients for bigger budgets and braver creativity, or, as Tania Banotti chief executive of IAPI puts it, "these are significant findings that we can leverage to persuade clients and boardrooms to invest more".
A Research Study : The Value of Advertising in Ireland is made up two studies. A Line in the Sand was conducted by strategic planning consultant Karen Hand, along with Tam's chief executive Jill McGrath, and examines the overall commercial evidence for investment in advertising, media and creativity. The second study – I must be Talking to my Friend – written by ex-adman and Smurfit Business School marketing and branding lecturer, John Fanning, highlights the principles needed to develop effective advertising, using best-practice examples from the case studies.
Predictably perhaps it's the high-profile, easily-name-checked brands that make it into the study. Against an environment where advertising spend is up generally, it found that from January to June this year, brands such as KBC Bank, Laya Healthcare, Bord Gáis Energy and Toyota have started to put significant spend behind their campaigns. Nissan has invested 141 per cent more than last year (mainly in TV and digital).
Big spenders
The big spenders are
Sky
,
Diageo
,
Unilever
,
UPC
and
Lidl
. In the motor sector, figures from that industry’s umbrella body Simi show that motor brands investing in advertising are amongst the top five in terms of market share.
Brands that have spent strategically and consistently over the last number of years such as Guinness, Heineken and Bulmers, according to the report, continue to maintain their market share.
In the retail sector, both Aldi and Lidl have invested significantly in advertising which has contributed towards growth for both brands. Their combined share of market was 16 per cent in 2014, up from a combined share of 10.6 per cent in 2011.
Commenting on the report, Banotti, says: “The study clearly shows the commercial value of effective advertising and how marketing efforts are vital to the performance of a business.”
