How measurable is creativity?

Test a loudspeaker on animals? You'd have to come up with an idea like that! Sacha Moser came up with it while watching his cat at home, listening to the sounds of his surroundings with pricked ears. The CEO of creative agency Foundry had just won the account of electronics manufacturer Sennheiser and didn't hesitate for long: he staged the global campaign "Tested in the wild" with wild animals from all over the world. His feeling that his flash of inspiration could also inspire others did not deceive him. The agency won gold at the Swiss film award Edi. for the TV commercial and documentary for the Ambeo soundbar, and recently had the opportunity to realize the second creation "Hear more" - this time with people and how sounds shape their emotional well-being. An exciting question that has already received a lot of positive feedback. Moser, whose agency has offices in Zurich, Berlin and New York, knows: "Genuine creativity pays off."

"Although clicks and likes are easy to measure, they rarely reflect the true success of a brand."

Campaigns like Sennheiser's, which break new ground, stand out from the crowd. In contrast, it is often common practice in the industry to focus on quick, purely quantitative measures of success. Success KPIs such as clicks and likes are the main yardstick, because they supposedly reflect the tastes of the masses. On the other hand, isn't there more to it than that in order to really anchor yourself in people's minds? Doesn't the click currency deprive creativity of its breeding ground? "When was the last time you told your friends about an advertising campaign?" asked the renowned daily newspaper NZZ some time ago.

Play it safe with clicks

Such debates have been popping up again and again since everything can be measured, counted and adapted to user wishes in real time. This is also due to advertisers who play it safe by insisting on quick click successes to evaluate the performance of their brand. But are they really doing this?

"How unique and innovative is the idea? Does it bring new perspectives or approaches?"

Almut Becvar has a clear opinion on this. "Although clicks and likes are easy to measure, they rarely reflect the real, long-term success of a brand," says the creative director and partner at Studio Riebenbauer in Vienna. Such short-term KPIs reveal little about the actual bond with the brand. Nor do they provide any reliable information about the return on investment. Instead of quick click KPIs, the creative prefers long-term brand building as a success factor for efficient advertising. In her opinion, "campaigns that promote sustainable growth, strengthen brand loyalty and build a dedicated community of brand lovers who identify with the brand's values" are the best way to achieve this.

Becvar has been a board member of the CCA Creativ Club Austria since last year. The CCA Venus Award is Austria's most important creative prize, which honors the best ideas in the communications industry. The jury of experienced creatives, strategists and industry experts focuses on creative excellence. In other words: How unique and innovative is the idea? Does it bring new perspectives or approaches? But the technical quality of the implementation and its impact on the target group also play a role.

Apple: Think Different

These insights do not come from the creatives and jurors of the CCA Award alone - they are based on many years of experience in the advertising business. Take Apple, for example, with its Think Differently campaign. By building a brand for visionary and courageous people who question conventions and want to change the world, founder Steve Jobs managed to lead Apple out of the crisis and turn it into a cult brand. Today, the company is one of the most valuable in the world. For Becvar, one thing is clear: "Those who manage to find their creative voice also increase sales." Sophisticated campaigns therefore create emotional connections that have a more lasting effect than purely rational approaches.

Differentiation via creativity

Sacha Moser also confirms this. "In oversaturated markets, where there are far too many offers for similar products with similar functionalities and prices, it is important to differentiate." During the years he spent working for Young & Rubicam in New York, the Foundry boss learned a lot from the American sales talent of the Fortune 500, as the 500 companies with the highest turnover are known. He uses Google as an example. The search engine started out in seventh place, but quickly overtook the competition, Moser explains. The decisive factor for him was the UX design in combination with a colorful logo. "Google's design was simply worlds more creative than that of its competitors," he says. Of course, short-term clicks are also important for building awareness - but it is creativity that creates real connections.

"To Düsseldorf? Never."

When the era of e-scooters began, Moser's agency was tasked with positioning the US brand Lime as a market leader. To do this, he focused on the personal stories of users - with a lot of humor that stuck in people's minds. For example, Lime put up posters in Cologne: "To Düsseldorf? Never." Moser can read the success from two observations: Firstly, users:inside exchanged ideas about the funny messages and even came up with new words. Instead of "we ride scooters", they said "we go liming". And secondly, Lime later became a coveted bride: the brand was taken over by competitor Uber. The powerful mobility provider seemed to believe that Lime's brand advantage could no longer be caught otherwise.

Qualitative feedback

On LinkedIn, the question of how to determine the effectiveness of a creative strategy also drives the "Creative Strategy" community. One marketing expert advises to obtain qualitative feedback in addition to clicks, surveys and votes. This reveals the emotions, motivations and perceptions of the audience. Measuring the effectiveness of a campaign is not a one-time thing, but rather an ongoing process. Other experts in the forum added that creativity takes time. Simply because it does not always produce an immediate reaction that can be measured. As strong as an emotional connection can be, it does not always have to find immediate expression.

Clicks also have their justification

Nevertheless, short-term click KPIs can provide important conclusions for those responsible. Advertising can be tested and further developed based on rapid user feedback. This is how Christoph Everke proceeded when he created the 2021 Christmas campaign "The Wish" for Penny. At four minutes long, the film was clearly too long for online, says Everke: "Social media experts strongly advised us to shorten the ad." In the end, he dared to show the creation in its unusual length because his team and Penny believed in the story. In the commercial, a mother wishes her son back to his youth during coronavirus. Because instead of letting school slide, drinking too much and suffering his first heartbreak, her offspring just sat around at home during the crisis. That clicked! "The story worked for the entire four minutes," says Everke happily. "The click-through rate was more than 30 percent, and the view-through rate of people who watched the movie in its entirety was similarly high. On average, the bounce rates are much higher."

"Creativity takes time. It does not always produce an immediately measurable reaction."

During the test run, however, the creative director also realized that he was wrong with one assumption: the definition of the target group. "We had expected the film to primarily interest younger target groups. But the click-through rate was also very high among their parents," says Everke. This insight, which of course primarily affected the media strategy, meant that the film was increasingly placed in environments frequented by adults. This is also where it caused the most tears. One mother wrote on social media: "As a mom who lives with three teenagers under one roof, I cried more tears than I have in a long time. A great message."

And yes, in addition to the click rate, other KPIs were also right: More than 51 million people viewed the story. The organic reach was just under 70 percent. In total, the film achieved around 173,000 interactions - the interaction rate on YouTube alone was 253%.

AI versus team walk

Everke and his team won several creative awards for the film, including three Golden Lions in Cannes. But it wasn't just the continuous measuring that encouraged the advertisers on their path; they had also done extensive research beforehand. As with every campaign, they pored over studies and analyzed figures in order to get to the bottom of the current zeitgeist and the needs of the respective target groups.

"It's also worth getting qualitative feedback. This reveals emotions and perceptions."

Recently, artificial intelligence has also been involved in trend research. Everke uses it to get an initial overview of topics and to be inspired by insights and ideas. Although AI can support the creative process, it cannot replace a creative exchange, says Everke. "When we go for a walk as a team, we come up with really good ideas," says the Creative Director of Serviceplan Neo. Creativity is, by definition, the ability to create something that is new and useful. It is a profoundly human achievement that is difficult to grasp.

This article first appeared in the m&k print edition 1-2/2025.