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For years, marketers have debated the role of creativity in advertising effectiveness. With the focus on performance metrics and immediate results, some question whether creative advertising still matters. The answer is that yes, it does and drives those exact performance metrics.
James Herman, who helps startups launch and bring products to market, explains on Episode 708 of “The Business Storytelling Podcast “ that creativity’s impact on advertising effectiveness is now backed by substantial data.
“Before about 15 years ago, we didn’t have a lot of evidence that creativity was definitely more effective,” James says. “Over the past 15 years, there’s been a renaissance in terms of the effectiveness data available.”
Understanding advertising effectiveness
Advertising effectiveness isn’t driven by a single factor – it’s more like baking a cake. James explains that success requires multiple ingredients working together:
- Appropriate budget allocation
- Proper targeting
- Right type of advertising for different objectives
- Distinctive brand assets
- Creative execution
- Campaign variables like media selection and timing
“If you bake a cake and have all the ingredients in the right measurements, you’ll end up with a good cake. If you leave just one ingredient out, you end up with a terrible cake,” James says. “Advertising effectiveness is like that. We need a group of ingredients, and we need to manage all of those to make sure we end up with the most effective product.”
Read next: 23 ways to run a successful creative process
The three pillars of creative advertising
Creative advertising isn’t just about being different or artistic. James identifies three key elements that define truly creative advertising:
Originality
The work feels fresh and stands apart from average advertising
Engagement
The content pulls consumers in rather than just listing facts
Executional craft
The technical aspects like photography, copywriting, and production quality serve the idea well
When these elements come together, creative advertising delivers several key benefits:
- Greater attention from the target market
- Better recall among consumers
- Increased “fame effects” through sharing and media coverage
- More earned media value
- Higher overall effectiveness
The two types of demand
One of the most important insights about advertising effectiveness is understanding that markets have two distinct types of demand. James calls these “existing demand” and “future demand.”
Existing demand represents people ready to buy right now – a relatively small group. Future demand consists of a much larger group who will enter the market later. James illustrates this with a simple example:
“When I ask audiences to raise their hand if they’re currently in the market to buy a new mobile phone, two or three hands go up. When I ask who will buy a new phone in the next two years, almost everyone’s hand goes up.”
This distinction matters because each group requires a different advertising approach:
For existing demand (immediate buyers):
- Straightforward, rational messaging
- Product features and specifications
- Pricing information
- Clear calls to action
For future demand (later buyers):
- Creative, engaging content
- Emotional connections
- Brand building
- Memory-creating experiences
The universal appeal of creative advertising
While targeting specific audiences matters, the most effective creative advertising often taps into universal truths. James points to successful campaigns like Snickers’ “You’re not you when you’re hungry” series, which resonates across different demographics because it connects with a shared human experience.
“The best creativity takes a universal truth and turns it into something which is really emotional, original, and engaging,” James explains. “That’s what we should all really be aiming for.”
Building long-term brand value
For startups especially, there’s often pressure to focus solely on short-term sales. However, James warns against neglecting brand building through creative advertising. The average startup journey from seed investment to exit takes about 10 years, making long-term brand value crucial.
“Startups have historically not been great at brand building,” James notes. “But as we’re starting to better understand how startup brands grow into big, valuable companies, it’s becoming really clear that they need to invest in brand building.”
Companies that focus exclusively on converting existing demand often hit a plateau after two or three years. Customer acquisition becomes more expensive, ROI decreases, and growth stalls. The solution is balancing immediate performance marketing with creative brand building that creates future demand.
The foundation of effective advertising is a well-crafted brand that aligns with the company’s core mission. “Your brand should be an externalization of what’s absolutely true on the inside of your company,” James explains. “Whatever you call it – mission, purpose, or vision – it’s about what you’re really trying to achieve in the world.”
The evidence is clear: creativity remains a vital component of advertising effectiveness. While performance marketing and rational messaging have their place, particularly for converting immediate buyers, creative advertising builds brand awareness and emotional connections that drive long-term success.
As James concludes, companies don’t do brand building because they’ve become big – they become big companies because they invest in creative brand building from the start.