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In the first week of December, the Effie Latin America Awards took place in Punta del Este, Uruguay. This event acknowledges the most effective campaigns across the LatAm region, prompting a review of the trends that, derived from the winning cases, suggest the direction in which effectiveness in marketing is evolving.

It has long been recognised that a correlation exists between creativity and effectiveness. Yet, in recent years, there has been a noticeable congruence between campaigns winning in creative festivals and those in effectiveness awards. As a renowned creative director was telling me recently, the Effie has become more like a creativity festival and Cannes Lions has become more like an effectiveness one. Although, by definition, they are not the same, it could be that both are increasingly seeking a common ground where creativity and effectiveness speak the same language.

In Latin America, there hasn’t been as long a tradition of winning creative awards for campaigns that also achieve significant sales results. Historically, many awards have been given for social initiative campaigns or to small brands that have taken the risk of approving disruptive creativity. In contrast, markets such as the British, have a much stronger culture of correlating creativity with effectiveness. Latin American agencies had, until recently, a tendency to separate creative cases from effectiveness cases. Indeed, it has been common to talk about Latin American agencies as having either a 'creative profile' or an 'effectiveness profile'.

There is also a relatively new interest among brand managers to win at Cannes Lions, who no longer view it as a festival just for creatives. For many across the region, AB Inbev has become the model to emulate. The world's largest brewer has become the most awarded advertiser in both effectiveness and creativity festivals. This was evident in the latest edition of Effie LATAM, where the Brazilian brand Brahma was the most awarded. At Cannes Lions 2023, AB Inbev accounted for 17% of all the lions won by the region. The desire to win at Cannes could be explained by advertisers' wish to gain recognition within the industry. However, many also believe in the impact that disruptive creativity has on the value of brands and businesses. Over a decade ago, Peter Field published an article titled 'The Value of Creativity,' concluding that ads that won at creative festivals were about ten times more efficient at helping brands gain market share.

What Wins at Effie LATAM

Looking closely at the winning campaigns in the recent edition of Effie LATMA, we can categorise them into three main groups. Each accounting for approximately 30% of the gold-winning cases. The first group (35% of the golds) are campaigns that we might be called social well-being or purpose-driven. These include cases related to diversity, the inclusion of people with disabilities, fighting cancer, or combating misinformation and they are not necessarily from NGOs. Many are from brands that have developed these initiatives and have succeeded in increasing their sales results. A second group would be composed of what we might call innovation cases (28% of the golds), ranging from cases that served to launch a new product to, more importantly, the innovative use of a mobile application, new technology, or the integration of artificial intelligence into a brand service.

Finally, a third group (28% of the golds) would include cases whose most notable characteristic is the use of humour, entertainment or fun. This includes very amusing cases like the Neapolitans' reaction to the use of Heinz ketchup on pizza, or the 'medical department' created by Brahma Brazil so that athletes have an excuse to go to the Rio Carnival. The remaining 10% of golds went to cases that used national pride or campaigns that generated reflection or irreverence to achieve their objectives.

Creativity and Effectiveness

It is possible to affirm that the cases that won for Effectiveness in the recent edition of Effie coincide with those that won for creativity in Cannes Lions. In particular, looking at the cases that won gold at Effie LATAM, 42% also won at Cannes Lions. Moreover, if we consider all the gold or Grand Prix won at Cannes Lions by Latin America, which were just over 30, 21 of them also won at Effie. That is, two out of three cases that win gold at Cannes Lions also do so at Effie LATAM. Therefore, while there isn't a perfect overlap in awards, it is possible to assert a significant probability that a case will win at both festivals.

Although it has become somewhat common today, if we compare with the ideas that won at Cannes Lions a few years ago, very few included results or testimony of the impact the idea had in terms of sales or virality. Today, however, it is a common practice to demonstrate that the creative idea has had results or at least has had the power to mobilize the media and audiences. From Effie's perspective, many cases follow suit. A few years ago, cases were judged almost exclusively by the written document and campaign pieces. Today, however, many countries have opened the possibility of including a video case that takes the jury through the stages of the campaign and builds an emotional momentum that impacts them.

Although it may seem obvious, we must not forget that the juries of creative and effectiveness awards are human. They are moved by emotions and therefore, creativity is the best tool. While Effie might offer a more detailed and conscientious look at the results or campaign resources and stages; a powerful idea that makes us laugh, challenges us or gives us goosebumps, is mobilizing for consumers and juries as well. We will likely see more elements in common between creative and effectiveness festivals. It is undoubtedly beneficial for the Latin American region that brands appreciate creativity. The middle ground where these awards meet may be the greatest hope for the industry of creativity and ideas.