System1

New insight from System1 shows what is resonating in a COVID-19 world and why Over the weeks of lockdown TV viewers have seen an increasing volume of COVID-19 related ads. With 79% of the UK population watching TV, brands have unprecedented opportunities for reach - but are they running the right creative? Brands have been attempting to reach audiences with messages of hope and togetherness, but will these result in long-term brand building impact? New insight from System1 shows what creative elements are resonating in a…

Global effectiveness agency System1, in partnership with ITV, released FeelMore50 - the UK’s most effective TV and online video ads of 2019. It announced the John Lewis & Waitrose Christmas ad as the best of the year for long-term brand-building effectiveness. During this popular industry event System1 screened the most effective ads of the year based on their Test Your Ad service, which uses an emotional measurement methodology (independently validated using IPA data) to test over 14,500 TV and digital ads in the…

In my previous article, I explored how emotions play a big part in Not-For-Profit ads, showing how happy and positive emotions boost long term effectiveness; while sadness only results in short term growth. This time I’d like to consider the other elements that make successful NFP ads. My colleague Orlando Wood, in his latest book with the IPA, explained that ads can appeal to either the right or the left part of the brain and that most effective ones are usually those that talk to the right brain. Decades of pop…

Although the aim is to support a good cause, ad effectiveness is not a given. Not For Profit campaigns, in fact, seem to struggle with long term growth. Through the System1 benchmarking tool we found that NFP ads in the UK and US usually score badly, with zero ads predicted to achieve 3% brand growth and over half predicted to achieve just 0.5% brand growth in the UK. But why is the score so low? Most NFP ads tend to use sadness or shocking visuals to make an impression on the viewers. This, however, doesn’t seem to be…

New research by Orlando Wood of System1, published in the new book Lemon (by the IPA), argues that the 21st century has seen a shift in society towards culture that appeals to audiences’ left brain – and shows how this shift has affected the advertising industry for the worse! Wood demonstrates that features of ads can be identified and categorised to establish whether an ad appeals more to the left- or right-brain (the left brain’s way of seeing the world being more abstract and analytic, and the right brain’s being more…

Critics of “brand purpose” – the idea that brands need to improve the world or society as well as just make money – tend to dismiss the notion as an ineffective fad. You’ll hear brand purpose called virtue signaling, or people making claims that purposeful branding exists in a Marketing bubble. The backlash hasn’t stopped Paul Polman and Alain Jope of Unilever, or London’s Financial Times, taking firm stands in public on the need for purpose. Many more have joined them. With every day that passes, brand purpose looks less…

Research from System1 has found the use of Fluent Devices (fictitious characters, human or creatures, created by a brand and used as the primary vehicle for creative across more than one ad) increases advertising effectiveness, although their use in US ads has declined significantly over the past 20 years. The study, using independent data from the IPA DataMINE database, reveals that campaigns using a fluent device are 37% more likely to increase market share than campaigns not using a fluent device; 27% more likely to…

Effectiveness prediction agency System1 has teamed up with a veteran UK comics artist to showcase its recent work on classic advertising characters as a unique cartoon strip. Lew Stringer, who has drawn strips for the Beano, Viz and Marvel Comics, and has worked on iconic characters like Lord Snooty and Rasher, worked with System1 to create an all new humour strip for the company’s Cannes giveaway. Marketing Technology News: NetWise Data Launches SmartIntent The comic is a tribute to classic British comic strips and…

New research from effectiveness prediction agency System1 shows that the 2019 Cannes Lions Film winners were the least effective ads to win at Cannes in the last 10 years, with the majority of winning ads prioritising short term sales boost over long term brand growth. System1 has analysed all Film Grand Prix and Gold Lions winning ads since 2010 using its Ad Ratings platform which uses the emotional response that consumers have ads to predict long- and short-term growth potential on a 1-5 Star scale. Ad Ratings found…

System1 Research, the marketing research and effectiveness company, has appointed Lester Sualog as its new managing director, APAC. Sualog will be responsible for leading the APAC office, bringing 20 years of global experience in market research, strategy, innovation and business development to the role. Founder and CEO John Kearon said, “With Lester’s experience in brand growth, strategy and market research, Lester is the ideal candidate to help drive the System1’s growth in APAC. We are confident that his experience in…

Does “brand purpose” make effective advertising? New data from global marketing research and effectiveness company, System1, shows that 1 in 5 of the most effective TV ads last year highlighted a cause beyond the brand itself. But marketers are often getting “purpose” wrong, by jumping into controversial and divisive topics rather than picking more inclusive causes. The subjects that most strongly motivate viewers are not necessarily progressive. They’re often very traditional “Cause-Related Marketing” topics, like…

System1, the emotional measurement agency has launched its new System1 Ad Ratings service for brands and advertisers as a way for brands to understand the potential of their campaigns to drive long-term growth. The service is launching with two years of data covering over 27,000 TV ads from the USA and UK. Once an ad has aired on TV it is typically available on the platform the very next day. System1 Ad Ratings analyses ads in over 100 categories providing advertisers and brand managers a platform to benchmark the…