JURY CHAIRMAN

ERIC SALAMA | CEO | KANTAR

Research and consulting solutions are rarely bought by clients as ends in themselves. They are bought by clients to help them make better decisions. And for that to happen, a client management team and its various agency partners must feel that they want to act. So the content of our work and the way in which we communicate it are critical. Creativity can come from both of these areas - the way insights are generated and the way insights are communicated and brought alive.

Last year, we focused on the effectiveness and innovativeness of solutions for clients. This year we judged work more explicitly on the creativity of work and, in particular, rewarded work that:

a) used creativity to uncover or sell a fresh insight or idea; or
b) presented an innovative solution to an established problem.

Aziz Cami, Kantar's new Creative Director and previously the founder and CEO of The Partners, and I, reviewed over 50 entries. These ranged broadly and included many pieces of work around 3600 communication, drivers of brand value, in-store marketing, new ways of developing innovative ideas, and the fusing of data from different sources to generate new insights. Encouragingly, we also had a number of entries which centred on how clients are communicating insights within their organisations, and how to derive more value from them. The quality of entries was incredibly impressive and a clear step-up from last year. The only plea I would make for next year is for more entries from non-Kantar companies. We know that there is incredibly creative insight work which is going on across the WPP Group and it would be nice to expose some of it!

Added Value's board game developed for Vodafone was the clear winner. It combined innovative thinking designed to uncover the personality of Vodafone in different markets. The degree of consistency in the tone of its communication, and the way it engaged the client in discussion, verged on genius. The board game has been rolled out around the Vodafone world, has been played by CEOs and senior management, and has enabled our brand marketing and insight clients to elevate, discuss and action positioning issues. A fantastic example of great content - with creativity at its core rather than simply an add-on.