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Lord Black of Brentwood, Executive Director, Telegraph Media Group is Chairman of Judges for the 2011 IPA Effectiveness Awards and Charlie Snow, Director of Communications Strategy, DLKW Lowe is Convenor of Judges. Lorna Hawtin, Disruption Director, TBWA\Manchester is Deputy Convenor.
Says Lord Black: “Having read through all of the submissions into this prestigious competition, I have been truly amazed by the return on marketing investment that these campaigns have produced. This competition proves without doubt that regardless of size of budget, advertising works.”
Says Charlie Snow: “There is a huge variety of communications solutions on offer in this year’s entries – a mobile phone app, social media, website design, email campaign, experiential, TV sponsorship, as well as broadcast media, it’s all here - enabling both clients and agencies to further broaden their knowledge and gain added insight, inspiration and proof of effect.”
Says Tess Alps, CEO, Thinkbox: “The IPA Effectiveness Awards get more important every year, not only for honouring campaigns that work, but for amassing a valuable body of evidence that proves what advertising contributes to the bottom line. Thinkbox is very proud to be its sponsor.”
Details of the entries:
• Entries were received from Colombia, China and the UK.
• The most used forms of communication were television and websites/microsites, each used by 15 entries.
• This was followed by online display used by 12 entries; PR – 10, Newspapers and magazines – 9; outdoor, radio, search and social media – 8; word of mouth – 5; branded content – 4; mobile/apps, email marketing, brand experience/experimental, direct marketing and couponing – 3; ambient, viral, sales promotion and sponsorship – 2, cinema – 1.
• The average number of communications media used was 6.
• There were 25 single entries and 3 joint entries.
• 5 entries used econometric modelling.
• Entries spanned all sectors including: automotive, financial services, FMCG, public sector, media, retail, telecoms, travel and transport.
The 28 entries are:
Anchor Squirty Cream, by CHI & Partners
Aquafresh Kids, by MediaCom and Kids Industries
California Travel & Tourism Commission, by Feather Brooksbank
CrossCountry Trains, by McCann Manchester
Department for Transport, by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and Carat
Depaul UK, by Publicis
Doro Mobile Phones, by Owl Marketing Solutions
East Midlands Trains, by LIDA
Fiat, by AKQA
first direct, by Mindshare
Hiscox, by VCCP
Johnnie Walker, by RAPP Shanghai
Jungle Formula, by VCCP
Liverpool ONE, by McCann Manchester
Lynx, by Tullo Marshall Warren
Marie Curie Cancer Care, by DLKW Lowe
Marmite XO, by We Are Social
McCain Wedges, by PHD Media
Organ Donor Register, by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
Ovaltine, by WCRS&Co/Engine
Panasonic Toughbook, by Equi=Media
Pepsico Walkers, by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
Program of Humanitarian Attention to the Demobilised, by Lowe-SSP3
Promote Iceland, by The Brooklyn Brothers
Rubicon, by The Minimart and PHD North
Shanghai Volkswagen Tiguan, by DDB China
Smokefree North West, by McCann Manchester
The Economist, by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
The 2011 IPA Effectiveness Awards are sponsored by Thinkbox, and are supported by Warc, Clear Channel and Campaign.
For further information about the entries, please visit www.ipaeffectivenessawards.co.uk
100 word campaign summaries:
Anchor Squirty Cream, by CHI & Partners – ‘Every dessert deserves a squirt’
At the beginning of 2010 the outlook for Anchor Squirty Cream was bleak. Volume sales fell over 2009 due to reduced distribution, and supermarkets no longer felt there was room on the shelves for the only branded aerosol cream in the category. The problem was Anchor felt dated and mums were embarrassed to serve it to their children. By creating a fun, integrated campaign around a single media property – Britain’s Got Talent –the campaign created new excitement for the Anchor brand, providing a short-term uplift in volume sales, and an overall payback of £1.06 for every £1 spent.
Aquafresh Kids, by MediaCom and Kids Industries – ‘Helping mum win the bedtime battle’
Aquafresh Kids sales have increased by 144% in the past four years. This success came through understanding that for mums, getting their kids to brush their teeth and go to bed is a nightmare. Communications aimed to help mum win the bedtime battle. So the Nurdles, three lovable characters, were created who helped make brushing fun. Through songs, books, virtual worlds and instore events, Aquafresh permeated kids’ culture. The campaign has driven incremental sales of £3.5m with a payback of £1.41, and is now the blueprint for Aquafresh Kids worldwide.
California Travel & Tourism Commission, by Feather Brooksbank – ‘California calling’
This is the story of how visitation from UK residents was increased by 1% to the state of California, against a 4% drop in visits to the United States generally, and a 5% drop to other English speaking long haul destinations. Through identifying ways to reach people at different stages of their decision making process, a multi-media campaign was launched utilising celebrity TV and press advertising, as well as a promotion to award a member of the UK audience a place in the TV ad. The campaign outperformed all other territories throughout the world and returned $61 for every dollar spent, and a total of over $203m in incremental travel revenue.
CrossCountry Trains, by McCann Manchester – ‘CrossCountry price freeze’
This paper explains how CrossCountry blended consumer insight and behavioural economics to produce a real return on marketing investment in recessionary times. Since its launch in 2007, CrossCountry faced challenges including 20 competing train companies, and a lack of brand awareness and understanding in the public arena. To address this various messages encouraging online booking were directed at two target audiences, ‘Student Lifestyles’ and ‘Carefree Retirees’. As a result, visits to the website increased by 81% and the campaign is estimated to have delivered a return on investment of 1.63:1.
Department for Transport, by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and Carat – ‘Named Riders’
In 2009 collisions between motorcyclists and drivers continued to account for 21% of deaths on the road. Tackling the idea that drivers and motorcyclists were not ‘meaningful’ to one another, a unique behavioural change model transformed attitudes and claimed behaviours amongst key audiences by humanising motorcyclists to those most likely to cause them harm. Over the campaign period, motorcycle casualties dropped by 8.5% vs. the same quarter the previous year. It is estimated this new approach to motorcycle safety will deliver a saving of £8.85m to society.
Depaul UK, by Publicis – ‘iHobo’
For a number of years Depaul UK has attempted to recruit younger donors to counteract its shrinking donor base. Previous press and radio campaigns yielded only modest results. In 2010 Depaul UK developed an iPhone application that could help it reach out to a younger audience. iHobo required users to take care of a virtual homeless person for three days. Despite no paid media coverage the app was downloaded 600,000 times, delivering 95 times more new donors than previous campaigns. It has added 1,021 young people to the Depaul UK database who have a potential combined lifetime donation value of as much as £1.5m.
Doro Mobile Phones, by Owl Marketing Solutions – ‘Brilliantly simple’
At the start of 2010 Doro barely registered in the UK, with very low awareness and an almost non-existent market share. Their telephones are specifically designed for people with sensory impairments such as eyesight, hearing and touch. Using TV and online display advertising, Doro targeted the over 65s demonstrating the key benefits of the phone. Twelve months later Doro have now established themselves as a brand leading a new category, partnered with some big name high street retailers and have a market share of just under 1% of total GSM mobile handset sales in the UK. Taking their campaign on national TV contributed to an ROMI of more than 4:1.
East Midlands Trains, by LIDA – ‘How an email CRM programme helped boost the profitability of off-peak services’
The impact of recession posed a huge threat to East Midlands Trains. Their choice and use of the email channel, and their creative approach were all designed to minimise cost, minimise waste and maximise effect. Their campaign overcame the barriers to off-peak ticket purchase; increased revenue by 9% amongst customers contacted compared to those who were not; and reduced the off-peak cost per passenger helping to boost the profitability of off-peak services.
Fiat, by AKQA – ‘Fiat Portal’
Fiat identified the role of digital as a catalyst to conversion, turning loosely interested people into highly engaged and qualified leads. It did so by breaking with the age-old linear purchase funnel model and applying behavioural economics to nudge users to sale via a set of online tools. Fiat thereby achieved an incremental increase of qualified leads which represents a payback of £5 for every £1 spent.
first direct, by Mindshare – ‘first direct live’
By 2009, first direct faced a long-term decline in brand awareness and consideration, and their position as most recommended bank was under threat. The solution was to make prospective customers understand its services in a truthful and transparent way. first direct became the first brand to find out what its customers were saying online and broadcast it live and unedited through advertising. The campaign’s success has driven a 100% uplift in consideration, 55% uplift in share of new current accounts as well as a profit ROMI of £1.54.
Hiscox, by VCCP – ‘How a double bluff doubled our returns’
Engaging people in commercial insurance is no mean feat; in targeting the niche audience of IT professionals, Hiscox chose an unorthodox approach. Avoiding the clichés commonly aimed at this group, they instead used reverse psychology to engage them and to demonstrate understanding of their business. A direct mail pack was sent out that ‘double bluffed’ – it declared itself of no value to anyone outside the IT industry but talked of a product tailored specifically to them. The campaign doubled response, generated £2.05 for every £1 spent, making it Hiscox’s most successful direct mail campaign.
Johnnie Walker, by RAPP Shanghai – ‘Brand ambassador relationship program’
Johnnie Walker Black Label was facing tough competition; market leader Chivas and other competitive brown spirit brands, including Martell, Ballantines, Jack Daniels, Dewars and Hennessy, were all vying for the same share of the marketplace. Johnnie Walker leveraged the power of people to connect with high value consumers; using Brand Ambassadors they rewarded these consumers with personalised gifts and event invitations, which generated a ROI of $4.43 for every marketing dollar spent and increased brand loyalty.
Jungle Formula, by VCCP – ‘From repellent to compelling or how Jungle Formula took the sting out of summer’
Jungle Formula operated in a category with no major investment in communication for two decades, relying instead on the summer season to drive growth year-on-year. However, the credit crunch of 2009 affected the brand, with the first fall in foreign holidays since the 70s meaning the category declined. To address this, a TV campaign in the summer of 2010 was aimed at broadening the appeal of the brand and building fame in time for the holiday season. Within six months perceptions of Jungle Formula were changed. Most importantly, despite the lack of historical data, they demonstrated a short-term ROMI of just over 1:1.03, securing funding for new marketing investment for the following year.
Liverpool ONE, by McCann Manchester – ‘A celebration of style and success’
Liverpool ONE is a leisure destination in the heart of Liverpool that houses over 140 stores, 20 bars and restaurants, cinema, five-acre park and two hotels. To establish itself as a vibrant city centre hub, high awareness levels needed to be converted into visits from high value shoppers across the North West. Executing the idea ‘A Celebration of Style’, led to the ‘Life Styled’ campaign that sought to convince customers of the ethos that they become immediately stylish by being at Liverpool ONE. This yielded a year-on-year increase in sales of over £3.6m and a 12% uplift in spend per customer.
Lynx, by Tullo Marshall Warren – ‘Using social media to drive brand loyalty – a Lynx Facebook campaign’
It wasn’t driving new penetration into the brand and the market that Lynx struggled with, so much as converting this penetration into long-term loyalty. They decided to let go of their ownership of consumer data, and use Facebook and social media as a platform to engage with audiences on their terms in order to significantly influence spending habits. To keep the buzz and conversation going between campaigns Lynx developed an ‘always on’ approach, delivering a constant stream of content into Facebook so that the brand could maintain engagement levels. In total Lynx have demonstrated that the Facebook page drove £750,000 of additional revenue.
Marie Curie Cancer Care, by DLKW Lowe – ‘How £150k generated x for Marie Curie Cancer Care’
Faced with enormous pressures on charitable giving, Marie Curie redeployed a small part of its 2010 advertising budget to ask people to collect money for their Great Daffodil Appeal, rather than simply give money. Celebrity supporters produced two radio executions and online content, asking the public to sign up an hour of their time to collect, recruiting an extra 5,219 collectors. These collectors generated an additional income of £634,583, delivering a payback of £2.45 for every £1 spent. This equates to an extra 8,808 nursing hours for the terminally ill, thus enabling 228 patients to spend their final days at home.
Marmite XO, by We Are Social – ‘How the Marmarati launched Extra-Old Marmite using only earned media’
The challenge for the Marmite brand was to launch Marmite XO (MXO), an extra strong variant of the paste, using only earned media. This was achieved by engaging, involving and rewarding its most passionate fans through social media; by creating an exclusive group, the Marmarati, only for ‘super fans’ Unilever were able to harness their enthusiasm and launch the MXO for a total campaign budget of £250k. In the 12 months following its launch MXO has delivered £1m in sales. Importantly the Marmarati remain an engaged group of brand advocates, a significant asset with long-term value for Unilever.
McCain Wedges, by PHD Media – ‘Driving a Wedge between chips, chips and more chips’
McCain Wedges lacked a distinctive identity beyond the occasional alternative to chips. McCain therefore needed to grow the Wedges brand but in a way that didn’t cannibalise chip sales. Research unveiled a correlation between Wedges purchase and items bought for barbeques. Taking into account Britain’s unpredictable weather, McCain created ‘sunshine-activated’ executions that were only initiated when the weather forecast looked good. To extend activity beyond the summer months, they also sponsored several movie channels. The thermally activated media and film activity delivered a ROMI of £2.85 and £4.37 respectively. Penetration of Wedges now stands at one in five of all UK households, with frequency at an all time high.
Organ Donor Register, by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO – ‘When it’s better to receive than to give’
The task was to launch the first ever UK campaign to increase the number of registrations on the Organ Donor Register (ODR) from 16m to 25m in three years, specifically generating 37,600 registrations in the first five weeks. Insight reframed the problem: organ donation was not about altruistic giving, but about reciprocation, people will give because they want to receive. The campaign put people in the mindset of the recipient, and in doing so was able to generate sufficient empathy as well as self-interest to encourage them to register. The results were impressive. The campaign exceeded the previous year’s registrations by 400%; is likely to have helped save five lives, which at a financial cost of a life saved in a society of nearly £1m, gave a ROMI of 4:1.
Ovaltine, by WCRS&Co/Engine – ‘Small slice, big pie: How moving from a milky sleep aide to a daytime break drink paid dividends for Ovaltine’
This paper shows how Ovaltine moved from being second (of two) in the malted sleep aide market to gain over 1% of the £1.65bn daytime hot drink market. Faced with a category in steep decline, Ovaltine needed to recruit younger drinkers and enter a new market space. Using a six-month sponsorship of ITV3 daytime and various creative solutions, Ovaltine established itself in a different occasion and grew rapidly as a consequence. It has been estimated the campaign will generate up to £1.12m in additional gross profit in the long term, resulting in a ROMI of 5:1.
Panasonic Toughbook, by Equi=Media – ‘When the going got tough - Toughbook turned to digital’
Panasonic Toughbook faced the challenge of taking their market leading product into new geographical and vertical markets. This involved alerting potential new customers to the benefit of Toughbooks with a target to grow European market share during 2010. A Pan-European search and digital display advertising campaign was utilised to build brand awareness, drive traffic to the website, generate leads and reduce cost per response. Results show a 30% growth in unit sales, 122% year-on-year improvement in the number of responses, an 80% lower cost per response and an almost 3% increase in market share with 33% less marketing budget.
Pepsico Walkers, by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO –‘Any sandwich is more exciting with Walkers’
In 2009 Walkers was losing share in the single pack segment of the crisps market. They identified an opportunity to turn this around by prompting the consumption of Walkers with sandwiches at lunch. Communications sought to convince consumers, journalists and trade retailers that any sandwich is more exciting with Walkers, even the town of Sandwich in Kent. A series of surprise events over three days turned the sleepy town into the most exciting place in Britain. The campaign resulted in the desired turnaround in share for the Walkers brand, a change in quality of in-store display, and a 220% long-term profit return on the marketing investment.
Program of Humanitarian Attention to the Demobilised, by Lowe-SSP3 –‘ FARC Operation Christmas campaign’
This paper demonstrates how Colombia successfully demobilised members of the oldest guerrilla group in the world, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), which commits a terrorist act on average once every three days. Insight revealed that Christmas is the most sensitive period for this group. Consequently ‘Operation Christmas’ was created; two anti-guerrilla contingents and two Black Hawk helicopters travelled into the jungle to cover trees with 2,000 LED lights, alongside banners exhorting the guerrillas to lay down their arms. The message successfully encouraged 331 FARC members to demobilise and re-enter society. The year-on-year reduction in guerrilla numbers is estimated to return over £2.3m to Colombian government through tax receipts, a £11.35 ROMI, and the benefits to Colombian society and economy through a reduction in FARC’s illegal ‘fund raising’ is estimated to be £1m in the first year.
Promote Iceland, by The Brooklyn Brothers – ‘Inspired by Iceland’
When the Eyjafjallajökulll volcano erupted in April 2010 tourism to Iceland plummeted; negative stories spread online and the country was left with a projected £180m shortfall in revenue. ‘Inspired by Iceland’ was the campaign created to harness the power of people as media. Icelanders were encouraged to share their inspiring stories through social tools, including Facebook, Twitter and Vimeo, in order to persuade tourists back to Iceland. This activity changed both attitudes and behaviours in key global markets, bringing an extra £165m to the Icelandic economy with a ROMI of 61:1.
Rubicon, by The Minimart and PHD North – ‘Crossing the Rubicon’
The biggest challenge for the Rubicon drinks brand was to introduce it to a new mainstream audience, whilst remaining sensitive to its cultural heritage and ethnic audience. The strategic decision to connect Rubicon with Twenty20 cricket used the sport as a platform to bridge multiple audiences, and to portray the brand as an exotic and fun refreshment. The communications met the objectives of resonating with all audiences and resulted in year-on-year growth of 68% in a total soft drinks market growing only at 7%. Rubicon was able to deliver £11m incremental sales, with a payback of £8.80 for every £1 spent.
Shanghai Volkswagen Tiguan, by DDB China – ‘How to come out first when you enter last’
In China, the SUV category for automobiles was occupied by earlier market entrants and established competitors. As a latecomer to the category, Volkswagen (VW) wanted to leverage its state-of-the-art technology, quality craftmanship and German design to win over Chinese consumers. The initial objective was to achieve 10,000 orders within the pre-sale period (Feb-May 2010). An integrated campaign was rolled out over a seven month period through a range of platforms, including television, out of home, print and radio. The campaign resulted in 50,000 orders in the first month alone, rising to 90,000 before the car was available. The Tiguan became the top selling SUV in Chinese tier one cities by June - a new record for the industry.
Smokefree North West, by McCann Manchester – ‘Take 7 Steps Out - Protecting children in the North West from second-hand smoke’
In the UK approximately 11,400 people die every year as a result of breathing in second-hand smoke from family members. Challenging the norms of traditional anti-smoking campaigns that called for people to quit smoking completely, the ‘Take 7 Steps Out’ campaign offered simple alternatives to help keep children safe from passive smoking. Despite the inherent difficulties of delivering an ‘anti-smoking’ message to a hard-to-reach and obstinate audience, the campaign was successful in improving levels of awareness and attitudes towards second-hand smoke, and enacting genuine behavioural change.
The Economist, by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO – ‘The Economist’
As growth slowed for the 167 year old Economist, they needed to recruit new readers. For many years The Economist had built a reputation as the publication of choice for finance professionals, yet this was a narrow representation of its range and style. An engaging and ‘interactive’ outdoor campaign sought to convince people to consider the newspaper in a different light, and not as a publication filled with dry content and solely focused on finance. Tube commuters were given a ‘mini experience’ of reading an Economist article, where the ‘Where Do You Stand?’ thought was brought to life whilst they absorbed the poster. This campaign more than paid for itself from incremental subscriptions alone, with a conservative ROI of £1.96.
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