Narrow targeting plus dull creative produced zero profit reports over a year
0%
incremental profit
WarningBrand Strategy
No campaign running for over a year with narrow targeting and low positive emotion reported incremental profit. Broad targeting combined with high positive emotion took profit reporting from 8% under three months to 33% beyond three years.
Source
The Creative Dividend - a partnership between Effie and System1 (2026)
Andrew Tindall (System1), with Effie Worldwide; ESOC advised by Les Binet
Figure 78, p. 71, The Creative Dividend (Effie x System1, 2026), 1,265 campaigns
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StatCreative quality and media support together explain most of what a campaign achievesPrincipleCreative 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 perfectly