WARC has released the fifth edition of its Health of Creativity report, an annual look at how creative recognition connects to business effectiveness. The study draws on 11 years of WARC Rankings data from 2015 to 2025, covering 6,360 ideas.
What the numbers show
Across all ideas awarded for creativity in shows tracked by WARC Rankings, 21% went on to receive effectiveness recognition. Among high-performing creative ideas that made the WARC Creative 100, the conversion rate more than doubled to 45%.
That figure is one percentage point higher than last year’s 44%, suggesting the link between standout creative work and measurable outcomes remains stable even as the broader advertising environment shifts.
Fewer ideas lead with TV
The role of television as the lead channel among top ideas has fallen. In 2018, 44% of best-in-class ideas led with TV; by 2025, that share dropped to 25%. WARC said no single channel has replaced television, with lead roles now spread across a broader channel mix.
For marketing teams, this means a more flexible channel strategy is now the norm. It also puts pressure on measurement: when no single channel owns the campaign, attribution and effectiveness tracking need to span the full mix.
What separates the best ideas
WARC analysed 167 best-of-the-best ideas that appeared in both the Creative 100 and Effective 100 between 2016 and 2026. The findings point to a consistent set of traits:
- Brand building remains the lead objective, rising from 85% of all campaigns to 88% among highly creative and effective work.
- 61% of the best ideas drive a measurable impact on sales, and almost half affect market penetration.
- Social justice themes, including CSR, advocacy and brand activism, appear in 49% of top ideas, significantly over-indexing.
- Customer experience features in 42% of top ideas, and strategic partnerships feature in 40%.
- 37% of top campaigns run for a year or longer, compared with 15% of typical cases.
Amy Rodgers, Head of Content, WARC Creative, said, ‘Winning both a creative and an effective award for the same campaign is hard.’ She pointed to the shift away from brand building toward performance, brand size, and the resources needed to measure effectiveness and prepare strong award entries as factors that keep the overall conversion rate at 21%.
Retail leads, and commitment matters
Retail is the strongest sector for creative effectiveness, accounting for 20% of the 167 most creative and effective ideas despite representing only 13% of all cases. Food accounts for 10%, while technology and electronics, toiletries and cosmetics, and financial services each contribute 8%.
WARC’s composite creative commitment measure, covering media budget, campaign duration and number of media channels used, averaged 7.0 among highly successful ideas compared with 6.0 across the wider dataset. In short, more sustained, multi-channel investment tends to improve both creative and effectiveness outcomes.
Agency network scorecard
Ogilvy leads the total number of creatively awarded ideas with 575, including 84 added this year. BBDO has the highest number of creatively awarded ideas that converted to effectiveness awards, with 137. VML recorded the strongest growth, adding 27 converted ideas. Saatchi & Saatchi leads on conversion rate, with 32% of its creatively awarded ideas also earning effectiveness recognition, rising to 44% among highly creative ideas.
What marketers should watch
For Indian and global marketing teams, the report reinforces three practical takeaways. First, brand building remains the stronger route to work that wins both creative and effectiveness recognition. Second, long-duration campaigns and a broad channel mix improve the odds. Third, social issues and customer experience are recurring features of top ideas, but only when they connect to a clear brand role.
The next edition of the WARC Rankings, covering Creative 100, Media 100 and Effective 100, is scheduled for March 2027, following analysis of work awarded during 2026.
Source: MediaNews4U
