Writing an IPA paper is a rigorous, time-consuming and resource-intensive task, but the rewards can be immense.
Within this website you will find lots of help and we strongly advise you to read former case studies and check out previous winners in the IPA publications titled "Advertising Works" to be found for sale on the IPA website. You can also make use of our e-mentoring by sending a message to e-mentoring.
Previous Case Studies
Past winners always recommend that prospective authors should widely read previous Case Studies from the IPA dataBANK - there are over 1,400 available, covering all advertised sectors and most major brands. Advertising Works publications are available from the IPA website. IPA Members have special discounts and free downloads, and can interrogate the case studies via the IPA dataBANK. All case histories entered for the IPA Effectiveness Awards are available online through Warc.
Format
The IPA Awards have no set format. Papers entered from a single entrant must be no more than 4,000 words (excluding appendices/titles/footnotes/and any wording in figures or graphs provided). Papers that are jointly entered (creative agency and media agency for example) may have an additional 500 words to make specific reference to the broader marketing strategy deployed. A word count will be asked for on the entry form.
Any paper that makes a compelling case for the effectiveness of their marketing communications campaign will be accepted. Entries are required to isolate the effect of marketing communications (and not the effect of creative communications in isolation, for example, a popular TV programme without marcomms support). Judges will expect the following to be covered, to enable them to reach an informed decision on your paper and to compare it with others:
Context & Background
The judges have not necessarily worked in the market you describe. Make it easy for them to grasp the fundamentals of the market and brand, the challenge if any facing any evaluation and payback calculations. Perhaps alert them to any broader significance your paper has?
Objectives
What were the business, marketing and communications objectives that lay behind the communication investment? What problems were you trying to solve? What opportunities were you attempting to exploit?
The Solution
What was the strategic solution? How did you get there and why? What was the final brief to creative and/or media? What was the idea? What were its virtues? How did it manifest itself? Describe the channel(s) deployed.
The Activity
Be clear about how much was spent, on what and when.
The Results
The heart of your paper. What happened as a result of the communication activity? Include intermediate measures (e.g. shifts in awareness, brand attitudes and/or consideration) and commercial results 'proper' (extra revenues and/or profits) or their public service equivalent. In competitive and mature markets, the fact that nothing happens – that value share or sales remain the same over time or that a market or brand declines less rapidly than previously – may itself constitute payback if you can credibly establish what might have happened in the absence of such activity. Similarly, there are often dramatic returns on branding beyond the short-term sales spike: from a brand's long-term invincibility in a category, to staff or recruitment effects for service brands, through to share price improvements for strongly branded public companies. All are legitimate areas for exploration.
Payback
The ultimate proof of effectiveness: namely that the communications activity has been a worthwhile investment for your client. Many papers fall down at this stage, as they simply express payback in terms of sales (rather than profit, as should normally be the case) and/or take a short-term view of the evaluation period (ignoring the fact that communications are typically designed to work over the long term and rarely pay back during the campaign period itself). The best papers take a more rigorous and expansive approach to return on marketing investment. For instance, as well as quantifying your campaign's short term contribution to profits, you may also calculate the lifetime value of customers acquired. Or you may be able to establish the incremental financial value added to your brand, and possibly a subsequent rise in share price. Or you may present evidence that communications have helped your client maintain a price premium. There are many ways to approach this issue, and you are urged to read past papers for guidance and inspiration, as well as consult with your clients as to how they think the campaign has paid back. If you are using market research to quantify your payback then you are also advised to provide at least some outline of methodology sample sizes etc.
Summary
Take this opportunity to summarise your key points. You can also see the criteria your paper is judged against here.
A note on Econometrics
Econometrics can be useful in a paper and have certainly been used well in some winning papers. However, they are not a pre-requisite to winning. In 2009, of the 16 papers shortlisted, 4 used econometrics, 12 didn’t. If you are going to use econometrics you are well advised to supply background to the model in order for the judges to be able to assess its validity. Click here for guidance notes on econometrics.
A note on Appendices
They could be used to include data which supports an argument, or to disclose information which may be sensitive (only case-papers are published). Please note however, that Judges will base their judgment in the main on the case papers and not the appendices. The IPA aims to help entrants writing papers by running a number of 'How to Win' workshops. Click here for details of the workshops.
Top Tips
1. Work as a team
Experience shows that the best papers are usually the result of teamwork. Make sure you consider the contribution of all agencies involved in your case. The judges look favourably on genuinely integrated cases. Get help with gathering and analysing the data, and most importantly, get someone to edit your work before you submit it to the IPA. If they don't spot the flaws in your argument, then the judges will!
2. Get the client on board
There is no point in writing a paper if your client won't let you enter it. Too many authors spend months writing a paper only to find that the client won't sign the approval form when the deadline comes. Get senior client approval at an early stage and get your client involved in the process of writing the paper. Set milestones for them to read and approve the paper at various stages of development. Clients (including Financial Directors and Procurement people) can be particularly useful when it comes to crafting the language, and calculating and validating payback, so that your paper will appear as robust as possible for a commercially-minded audience. See the section on client approval for more hints.
3. Study the form
It's much easier to write a winning paper if you know what's expected of you. Start by reading some winning papers, ideally those that are relevant to your product category. It is also worth reading Grand Prix winners and specific prizewinners which may be relevant (i.e. Small Budget).
4. Allow plenty of time
A winning paper is based on a well-prepared case. Don't underestimate how long it will take you. You'll need time to gather evidence, time to write the paper, and time for several rounds of editing. The most successful authors start work several months before the deadline.
5. Get help from the IPA/How to Win Workshops
We will have a programme of 'How to Win' workshops. Register your interest with Bryony Clare (bryony@ipa.co.uk) at the IPA and that way we can let you know what's happening and when.
6. Show hard evidence that the campaign worked
What makes the IPA Awards different from any other awards scheme is that you must show hard business results. No matter how good the campaign was, if you can't demonstrate that it met the client's business objectives (or the public sector equivalent) it won't win.
7. Prove your case beyond reasonable doubt
Think of your paper as a legal case. Your aim is to prove that the campaign was effective beyond all reasonable doubt. Don't forget to deal with any other factors that could explain your brand's success. Judges can be cynical if the evidence appears flimsy or circumstantial.
8. Demonstrate payback
Winning cases not only show that the campaign was effective, but that it was financially worthwhile. For profit-making companies, you should show that the campaign will pay for itself. Not-for-profit companies should attempt to monetize the social benefits of the campaign and demonstrate that communications were the most efficient and effective way to achieve these social aims.
9. Highlight new learnings
The judges look favourably on any case that contains new learnings about how communications work. In particular, we are interested in effects beyond immediate sales uplifts, the effects of integrated communications, and the effects of ‘new’ disciplines such as branded content.
10. Make it a good read
The judges have to read a huge number of papers. You are much more likely to win if your argument is clear and your paper is easy and fun to read. Previous winners are useful reference points for style and tone.
11. Previous entrants
In papers that have been entered into previous awards, the judges will consider the additional proof of effectiveness and incremental learnings versus previous submissions.
12. Know the rules
The IPA Awards are a competition with specific criteria for all entrants (i.e. word count, number of copies, format, deadlines). Make sure you are aware of these to avoid any last-minute panic.
13. Register your entry
Submit your entry online through 'My Entry' . Entries for the 2010 IPA Effectiveness Awards are now closed.