Defining a metric of success between agencies and clients appears as one of the critical points raised by the State of Creativity, a study by Cannes Lions
The relationship between creativity and the impact it generates on brands’ businesses is still a difficult equation to close in the communication industry, despite being an old discussion. No wonder, it appears as one of the three critical points of the market for 2022, raised by the State of Creativity, a survey carried out by Cannes Lions, with more than 3,000 professionals in the communication area in 102 countries.
In the study, 82% of brands and 78% of their business partners said that understanding creative effectiveness is a central element in retraining the workforce. And that advertisers and agencies must have clear and transparent concepts of what the metrics of success are.
For Luiz Fernando Musa, CEO of Grupo Ogilvy Brasil and chairman & founder of David, the way to equate this relationship involves positioning what creativity is and its “crucial” value in innovation, transformation and problem solving projects.
“We can only make anyone see this value if we believe and live it in practice. In other words, creativity cannot be discourse either.
This alignment at the starting point will support the partners to build a closer relationship and understand the metrics that are most important for the development of the work.
“[Precisamos] know what problem we want to solve. We often waste a lot of time not knowing what we want and what creativity can help us solve. And from there, we measure whether we are solving and achieving what we set out to do”, says Musa.
According to Fabio Ludwig, creative director at WMcCann, showing the impacts generated by the actions is a daily mission at the agency. “Everything that is created, we ask ourselves: what is the KPI? We always seek to show how creativity generates results in practice, through a technical and grounded vision, analyzing and presenting data, metrics and KPIs that justify creative thinking”.
The paths to find common metrics have to be aligned on a case-by-case basis, depending on the advertiser and the initiative being developed, defends Laura Esteves, executive creative director of the Gallery. “Brand search, website traffic, app downloads, reputation building. According to each brand and project, we use a KPI as a creative cutout”.
In this process of dialogue with brands, agencies also need to think about another element. The transmission of the value of creativity and its respective impact on the client’s business environment cannot be restricted to “c-level” executives, but rather be part of the agencies’ culture. “Agencies have to understand that creativity is not or is in a department. And culture. And culture is made with habits”, defends Musa.
This opinion is shared by Ludwig, from WMcCann, reinforcing that the creativity of brands is not something limited to advertising pieces. “Often, a business innovation brings more recognition and results to the brand than a campaign. And that kind of idea can come from any talent in the agency.”
Difficulty for advertisers
Another point that draws attention in the survey is that 41% of brand marketing professionals say they face difficulties in convincing their stakeholders about the importance of investing in creativity.
According to Musa, from Ogilvy, agencies can contribute in these cases by showing the gains that other clients had when they put creativity in the protagonist role.
“Measure the results and be clear about what can be done better. Be an ambassador and get other clients to advocate for the cause. Show the impact on business, people and investment. Creativity maximizes not only results, but also investments”, he explains. An equation that, according to him, should not be so complex. “The really difficult thing is to value and be creative in culture and in everyday life, and not just in speech”.
For Ludwig, from WMcCann, the “secret” lies in providing customers with a menu of solutions, which will help them better defend the need for investments to build the brand.
“Creativity is one of those services. Intelligence in data processing is another. Using the technologies we have at our disposal is another. We do not seek to bring our clients a single solution, but a colorful plate of strategies that generate results. Creativity is just one of those ingredients”, he adds.
