eBay, AAMI and Nescafé were behind the best performing ads in Australia as judged by consumers

Sydney, May 24, 2021: As part of Kantar’s Global Creative Effectiveness Awards, Kantar Australia today announce the 10 most creatively effective ads of 2020 as judged by Aussie consumers. Ads from eBay, AAMI and Nescafé were the most effective at engaging Aussies during a pandemic-driven 2020 and were chosen from more than 100 Australians ads tested using Kantar’s validated ad testing solution, Link.

Kantar Australia Creative Effectiveness Awards – Top 10, 2020

eBay’s winning ad was also ranked at #18 in Kantar’s Global Creative Effectiveness Awards announced last month. “It resonated with consumers globally but especially with Australians because it took them behind the scenes in a humourous but succinct way,” says Kris Katalbas-Hagamann – Director, Creative at Kantar Australia.

“Ads adopting emotional routes have a better chance of breaking through the brain’s filters, and using an emotional cue like humour is actually one of the best ways to prevent people from skipping an ad in the digital environment. eBay played to this emotion very well.”

“What all these ads consistently demonstrated was the key traits that made them the most creatively effective in Australia last year,” adds Katalbas-Hagamann.

“They are distinctive, entertaining and clear, and they use their brand impactfully. For Australians in particular, ads using authenticity and a local lens were imperative at a time when provenance and localism were of fundamental importance as we navigated the pandemic on the back of the bushfire crisis.”

“In fact, the quality of creative is the single largest driver of advertising profitability that a marketer can influence,” adds Kantar’s Head of Media, Digital and Creative Mark Henning.

“Our global CrossMedia studies find that creative quality and consistency of use across channel accounts for 50 per cent of campaign effectiveness. The link between the top 10 Aussie ads is that they each have strong creative, which is built consistently across touchpoints to make the most of the media synergies – and understanding how to make that creative effective in the environment is absolutely critical.”

“As Australians continue to explore, engage and communicate in our COVID-social world, Kantar’s March Consumer Sentiment Survey finds over two in five Australians have increased claimed usage of TV on-demand (47%) and online platforms (40%) while the average media consumption and claimed usage by Aussies has increased by 30%,” says Henning.

“When considering media effectiveness of a creative execution, brands must start with a core campaign idea but integrate it across all media channels to connect. The most important aspect however is to customise your creative to each channel and platform.”

Daren Poole, Kantar’s Global Head of Creative, says “At Kantar, we love great creative content, and we love it even more when that creativity is harnessed to deliver against brand and marketing objectives. Our Aussie winners use many different tactics in their creativity. The commonality they share is a commitment to creative excellence and a focus on ensuring their work performs exactly as intended.”

“Our research shows that Australians and indeed global consumers wanted advertising to continue as COVID hit last year because it showed normality. History has also showed us that advertisers who continue to communicate with consumers during a crisis come out of it stronger and faster. Those that paid attention to consumers and were brave definitely did.”

“Aussie brands that will thrive through this disruption must adapt to rapidly changing market and consumer needs and continue to have conversations with Australians,” adds Poole.

“Invest in insights. Be authentic, bold and brave. Remember, no ‘sadvertsing’.

In addition to the Aussie top 10, highly commended ads included 7-Eleven (CHE Proximity Australia) – My 7-Eleven Loyalty Launch Redeem 2020 (digital), Pepsi Max (TBWA Australia) – Pepsi Max Taste Challenge (TVC), and AAMI (Ogilvy Australia) – AAMI Does Home Claims Facebook 15” (Digital).

Ad testing and development solutions are available through Kantar Marketplace, the automated market research platform designed for marketers and agencies who want to test, learn and move faster. It is the only market research platform with solutions that have been independently validated to predict sales and brand growth.

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