A good advertising campaign is one that attracts more customers, generates sales and at times, also manages the occasional award. While various reviews have been written on the relationships between ads and driving business objectives, increasingly ads for a cause are making the right statements.
Research generally shows that ads are awarded primarily on the basis of creativity, impact and on the ability of a brand to create a lasting impression. However, winners at the Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity not only drove home the emotional connect with the customers but also displayed inherent social messages. Be it the ‘The Good Note’ ad that provided customers a way to donate money to the poor; the ‘World’s First Billbed’ that provided homeless with beds that at daytime functioned as billboards, or the ‘Handle on Hygiene’ that promotes hygienic habits with kids, the intrinsic call for a cause and for doing good was central nerve of all these ads.
This association between brands and good causes has generally been termed as ‘cause marketing’, which is by itself over 30-year old as a concept. This relationship generally involves purchasing the product for a good cause. ‘The Good Note’ is a perfect example for this form of marketing. A different, and perhaps a more recent version of this association consists of removing the ‘purchasing for good cause’ relationship, intending to market the product solely on social messages. Recent ads like ‘Handle on Hygiene’ and ‘World’s First Billbed’ fall in this category. While both of these marketing strategies intend to build a stronger well-connected society, they do so in different ways.
Dubai Lynx saw many such ads being recognized. ‘The Good Note’ by Bou Khalil Supermarché won Grand Prix for Integrated category and Gold for Direct and Design among others. ‘Handle on Hygiene’ by Lifebuoy and ‘The World’s First Billbed’ by Moltyfoam won the Grand Prix in the Outdoor and Media category respectively. Other ads with a social message such as ‘Give Mom Back Her Name’ by UN Women, ‘Dark Iftar’ By Coca-Cola and ‘Back Off Radio’ by Roads and Transport Authority has also been recognized at the Festival.
Recent surveys have highlighted the now intuitive fact that brands with marketing strategy that form better bonds with customers generally do well. Both cause-marketing and ads with solely social messages not only form emotional connect with their customers but also help in associating the brand with positive emotions. The On-Device research also concluded that the last 30 years of IPA Effectiveness Awards research shows emotional advertising is twice as profitable as rational based advertising.
These ads, although inevitably falling under the category of marketing strategies, not only capture the tragic truths of societies but also give a channel to make a difference for the same. Award festivals acknowledging these efforts give brands yet one more reason to ‘do well by doing good.’
