Creative quality and media support together explain most of what a campaign achieves
StatBrand Strategy
Matching 1,265 Effie award cases to System1 creative testing, creative quality alone explains 24.2% of the Business Results a campaign reports. Adding media support raises that to 60.1%, at 99.9% confidence. Most of what a campaign achieves sits inside two decisions marketers already control.
Source
The Creative Dividend - a partnership between Effie and System1 (2026)
Andrew Tindall (System1), with Effie Worldwide; ESOC advised by Les Binet
Figure 91, p. 90, The Creative Dividend (Effie x System1, 2026), 1,200 matched campaigns
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PrincipleCreative Dividend and Excess Share of Creativity - creative advantage, then creative advantage at scaleStatCreative advantage backed by media raises the odds of market share growth in a straight lineStatThe profit payoff from creative advantage compounds rather than accumulatesPrincipleDistinctiveness turns spend into revenue, emotion turns revenue into profitStatDistinctive and emotional work multiplies profit hardest on the smallest budgetsStatCreative quality is the largest profit multiplier a marketer actually controlsWarningMarketers rank targeting above creativity, and the data says it is the other way roundStatCampaigns that deliver several business outcomes are dramatically more likely to deliver profitStatRevenue is the easy result, profit is the rare oneWarningStacking short-term objectives onto a campaign drives its chance of profit to zeroStatThe rise of short-term campaign objectives tracks platform revenue almost perfectlyStatConsistency multiplies profit likelihood more than emotion, showmanship or distinctiveness