Budget Drives Effectiveness Eight Times More Than ROI New IPA research by Les Binet and Medialab Group’s Will Davis reveals that advertising effectiveness is far more influenced by budget size than ROI. Analyzing IPA Effectiveness Award case studies, they found that variations in profit payback are 89% explained by budget versus only 11% by ROI. Thus, larger budgets are eight times likelier to drive effectiveness than campaign ROI. This contrasts with a Medialab survey where 65% of 500 senior marketers viewed ROI as the key contributor to effectiveness, while only 35% prioritized budget. The findings suggest marketers focus on “doing more with less” may come at the cost of true effectiveness. The IPA databank shows that although ROI improved 4% since the Covid pandemic, overall net profit dropped 11%. Furthermore, over half (56%) of senior marketers target sub-segments rather than their full customer base. Source: IPA, Les Binet and Will Davis Influencer Marketing ROI Surpasses Linear TV and Paid Social IPA research analyzing 220 campaigns from 144 brands across 36 sectors and 28 markets, led by Jane Christian of WPP Media, reports that influencer marketing yields stronger ROI, especially long-term. In 59 UK campaigns, influencer marketing’s short-term ROI index was 99 versus 100 for all channels, with influencers driving 4. 5% of short-term sales. Although linear TV accounts for 32% of short-term sales, its ROI index is 97, slightly below influencer marketing’s 99. Influencer marketing also outperforms standard paid social (ROI index 86) despite paid social driving 13% of sales. Another study of 18 UK campaigns found influencer marketing’s long-term ROI index (151) far surpasses paid social (77).

Influencer marketing also has the highest long-term multiplier (3. 35) compared to linear TV’s 3. 27. Source: IPA Four in Five Marketers Increase Spending on AI-Driven Creator Content Data from Billion Dollar Boy shows 79% of marketers boosted spending on generative AI-powered creator content in the past year. Future plans indicate 77% intend to reallocate budgets from traditional human-only creator content and other marketing channels to AI-driven creator content within the next year. Motivations include perceived cost-efficiency, with 81% agreeing generative AI made collaborations more affordable, and 73% believing AI-enhanced content outperforms traditional content. Influencers are even more positive, with 78% agreeing AI-powered content performs better, and 85% reporting increased earnings due to AI. Despite enthusiasm among marketers and creators, consumer skepticism grows: only 40% of consumers aged 25-34 prefer AI-created content, while overall preference dropped 44% compared to 2023. Source: Billion Dollar Boy Colgate, Dove, and Nivea Lead UK Personal Care Brand Consideration YouGov research identifies Colgate as the top personal care brand in the UK, with 45% of consumers considering it for their next purchase. Dove ranks second at 37%, followed by Nivea and Oral-B tied at 34%. Vaseline is the most improved brand, increasing its consideration by three percentage points to 27%, notably scoring 49% among Gen Z consumers—nearly four times the sector average. The study highlights “youth conscious Brits” (13% of the population) as a key segment motivated by anti-aging concerns, with two-thirds stating they use beauty products to prevent skin aging. Source: YouGov One in Ten Marketers Use AI Secretly Amid Adoption Barriers A report from Optimizely reveals that 10% of marketers use AI covertly due to company policies restricting its use. Additionally, 10% feel unsure about how to get started with AI. Challenges hindering effective AI adoption include difficulty managing multiple AI tools (28%), poor integration of generative AI with existing tech stacks (18%), and data privacy or governance concerns cited by 19%, which complicate compliance and may lead to fragmented results and inconsistent policies. Source: Optimizely