Engagement rate has zero relationship with brand memory lift; creative quality explains 5x more of it than comment-to-like ratio does.
StatCreative Strategy
There is zero relationship between engagement rate and brand memory lift in paid social campaigns. If you must track engagement, comment-to-like ratio ('deep engagement') explains brand memory slightly - but creative quality explains 5x more.
Source
Cannes Lions 2026: The Creator Effectiveness Playbook - Andrew Tindall (System1) & Eugene Healey; System1 x WPP Media x TikTok research (2026)
Andrew Tindall (System1), Eugene Healey; research with Josh Cornell (WPP Media), TikTok
10:27-12:04, Andrew Tindall
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StatCreator ad spend grows 4x faster than other media, yet two-thirds of campaigns don't beat average brand-ad memory lift.Quote"Shit that arrives at the speed of light is still shit." - David Abbott, revived by Andrew Tindall on AI-accelerated, efficiency-first creator content.StatCreators match other channels on short-term ROI but carry the highest long-term brand-building multiplier of any channel.WarningThere's no relationship between media price (CPM) and creator campaign outcomes - cheap buys can win, expensive buys can lose.PrincipleBrand Memory Lift weighs brand-awareness gains twice as heavily as ad-recall gains, replacing impressions as the creator success metric.PrincipleEmotional, distinctive opening seconds roughly double the brand memories built at any attention level.StatThe top 10% of creator campaigns generate 4x more brand memory lift than the other 90%, and only 29% of creator ads beat the average brand ad.PrincipleBrand fit between creator and brand matters twice as much as creator fame, and getting fit, fame, and creative quality right together quadruples brand lift.PrincipleShowing a visual brand asset early lifts recognition, saying the brand name lifts it more, and doing both lifts it most.PrincipleSocial devices - a creator's repeatable creative signatures - compound brand memory over time like distinctive brand assets do.CaseWhen Eugene Healey posts a video without his face in it, views drop by a factor of 10.PrincipleAudiences don't tire of repeated creative formats before creators do - entrained patterns are why people keep watching.