Study links long-term growth to brand characters
New research out this week from the IPA and System1 has proved the “tangible value” of creativity in brand advertising to achieve long-term growth.
Ads that use creativity in the form of brand characters or motifs are better at eliciting an emotional response and boosting brand recognition.
Yet despite this, only 10% of all TV advertising spend is currently invested on characters within ads. Despite the fact they outperform ads without them.
Furthermore, even when brands do use a character, they are not using them widely and consistently, either on TV or across other platforms. For instance, on average, only 63% of a brand’s TV ads feature their character, while only a quarter of their Facebook ads do, thus limiting their impact.
System1 conducted a tagging exercise on more than 3,250 ads airing on UK TV last year to identify ads using characters and establish the opportunities their use holds for advertisers.
The authors said that creative campaigns work better because they generate greater emotional response and establish memory structures that enable “fast and reliable” brand recognition.
The research reveals that, in the UK, 43% of all TV advertising spend is on work of an emotional quality “unlikely to contribute to long-term share growth”, with similar results in the US market.
Source: Media Tel