The IPA Effectiveness Awards tell us that big ideas
do work. That patience
is rewarded. That my mum
should recognise my latest campaign. They also invite us to reconsider best practice, and the winners of 2020 were no different.
Superficially, Volvo, KFC and wagamama aren’t obviously comparable. Three brands with wide differences in heritage, recent performance and marketing means: what constituted a calculated risk for KFC in Australia, at roughly £500k investment, was wagamama’s annual advertising budget. Yet there is profound similarity: three brands struggling with the weight of competition, lacking the means to overcome it by spend alone, in categories with illustrious competitors. Each recognised the limitations of best practice in closing these respective gaps: KFC had a brand equity problem limiting uptake that foundational mental and physical availability couldn’t fix; Volvo had a penetration problem that consistent investment hadn’t turned around; wagamama saw a key audience defect to new platforms and providers.