Why effectiveness begins before the brief

I had the privilege of chairing the 2025 IPA Effectiveness Conference – a day full of insight, inspiration, and the occasional uncomfortable truth. What struck me most was that effectiveness doesn’t start with the work. It starts far earlier than that, with the conversations, the experiments, and the planning decisions that happen before an agency is even briefed. And that, on the whole, we seem to have either forgotten this or simply decided not to think about it.

During the conference, Les Binet set the tone perfectly. He reminded us that the single biggest driver of marketing success isn’t ROI, or targeting precision, or even creative brilliance – it’s budget. Efficiency has become an obsession in our industry, but as Les pointed out, we’ve reached a point where we’re at risk of whispering to an audience that already knows us. Yes, efficiency is good. But effectiveness is better – and that often means reaching further, with more investment behind the work.

Too late to influence the scale of ambition

That really resonated with me. Agencies need to help clients have those budget conversations earlier – ideally before they’ve even written the brief. Too often, we’re brought in once the numbers are set, when it’s already too late to influence the scale of ambition. At Lucky Generals, that means getting upstream: supporting clients in the discussions that determine not just what they do, but how much they can afford to make it matter. This is an approach that has paid huge dividends for our client, Yorkshire Tea. This Thinkbox/IPA film, which was premiered at the conference, tells that story.

Experiment to build the case for more investment

Another powerful takeaway from the discussions was about the importance of experimentation in marketing. This was demonstrated well by the 2024 IPA Gold-winning Laithwaites case study, which shows how starting regionally and scaling nationally proved how even small beginnings, grounded in experimentation, can unlock growth and justify bigger budgets. This case is a reminder that experimentation isn’t just a testing tool – it’s a strategic mindset. Start small, learn fast, build confidence, and then invest bigger.

Effectiveness can’t be an afterthought

McDonald’s former UK CEO (and ex CMO) Alistair Macrow also talked compellingly about taking marketing into the boardroom – positioning it as a profit centre, not a cost. That shift in mindset again starts early, with marketers bringing commercial rigour and creative confidence to business conversations.

Influencer marketing was another area where ‘starting early’ makes a real difference. Jane Christian of WPP Media and Dominic Charles of Wavemaker UK, presented new cross-industry data showing that influencer effectiveness, like any other channel, depends on clarity of brief, fit to brand, and creative consistency. The best results come when brands build long-term relationships with creators, rather than one-off bursts.

The Vaseline case study presented during the conference was a perfect example — finding where the brand already lived in internet culture, verifying real “Vaseline hacks” through the brand’s lab, and rewarding creators by offering the chance to turn hacks into e-commerce through TikTok Shop. It was a clever way to join the conversation rather than control it – and a brilliant case of creative effectiveness in action.

Throughout the day, there was a clear shift: effectiveness isn’t something to just measure after the work. It’s something to design into the work – from budget-setting through to creative development. That’s my biggest takeaway, and I’ll be passing this message back to The Generals. Start early. Ask hard questions upfront. Build effectiveness into every stage, not at the end.

Because the most effective work doesn’t just measure success, it plans for it from the start.

The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and were submitted in accordance with the IPA terms and conditions regarding the uploading and contribution of content to the IPA newsletters, IPA website, or other IPA media, and should not be interpreted as representing the opinion of the IPA.