Creative Effectiveness Lions
The Creative Effectiveness Lions celebrate the measurable impact of creative work.
On this page
Introduction
The work should demonstrate how an effective strategy rooted in creativity has met its chosen business objectives, generated positive customer outcomes and driven sustainable business impact over time.
The history of the Creative Effectiveness Lions
Launched in 2011, the Creative Effectiveness Lions are defined by a demanding entry process involving a detailed dissection of the work, focused largely on articulating demonstrable results. It’s a requirement that often results in agencies and their clients collaborating on submissions – a process that is educational in itself.
Initially this Lion was open only to shortlisted and winning entries from the previous year. However, it was acknowledged that the business impacts of creativity take longer to be proven over time and so the eligibility period was extended to work that won or was shortlisted within the previous 3 years.
In 2021 the Lion and its entry form were redesigned to reflect the principles of the Creative Effectiveness Ladder LIONS created in collaboration with WARC.
What kind of work can be entered?
The Creative Effectiveness Lions is open to any organisation that has won or been shortlisted for a Cannes Lions Award in 2022, 2023 or 2024 that can demonstrate that their creative work has driven results and achieved commercial success for a brand.
The entry can come from a company credited on the shortlisted or winning work. So even if you were not the original entrant, because you were involved and credited on the work you can submit what has happened since winning as part of a Creative Effectiveness entry.
What’s the Jury looking for?
The work should demonstrate how a well-crafted, creativity-driven strategy has successfully aligned with its specific business objectives, creating both immediate and lasting value. This involves showcasing how creative insights and innovative thinking have attracted and engaged customers, building trust and loyalty that drives continued positive outcomes.
Importantly, the strategy should not only meet short-term goals but also demonstrate a sustainable impact on the business over time, reinforcing the value of creativity as a long-term investment.
ADLAM: AN ALPHABET TO PRESERVE A CULTURE | MICROSOFT | MCCANN, NEW YORK | SILVER, CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS LIONS | 2024
The Categories
A. Creative Effectiveness: Sectors
Work in this section should focus on effectiveness achieved in a particular sector, and whether the work achieved or exceeded its objectives and goals.
The same entry can be submitted only once in this section.
All fast-moving and durable consumer goods, including but not limited to food and beverages, toiletries, cleaning products, other household goods, other FMCGs, clothing and accessories, furniture, and consumer electronics.
All fast-food entries should be entered into A04. Travel, Leisure, Retail, Restaurants & Fast-Food Chains.
Pharma, OTC drugs, wellness.
If the work has been created for a Charity/NFP then this should be entered into A07.
Vehicles, other automobiles.
All transport- and travel-related services, including public transport and tourism boards. All entertainment- and leisure-related services, including museums, festivals and gyms. All shops, including online retailers, opticians, hairdressers and estate agents. All restaurants and fast food chains, including cafés and bars.
Music, film, television, publications and media, books, news, digital platforms and other media.
All commercial public services, legal, financial, B2B technology, consultancies and professional services, other business services, internal and corporate communications.
Government, public information, NGOs, military, charities, non-profit organisations.
All corporate social responsibility work should be entered in the relevant sector and/or B04. Creative Effectiveness for Good category in section B. Market.
B. Market
Work in this section should demonstrate how it enabled the brand to effectively achieve their objectives in a chosen market.
Work that has been implemented in a single market with a single target market at its core. The work should describe how it was designed for the target market and how the tangible business results were achieved.
Work that has been implemented across multiple markets. The work should describe how it was designed for multiple markets and how the tangible business results were achieved.
Work that has been implemented globally. The work should describe how it was creatively designed to run globally and how the tangible business results were achieved.
Celebrating the measurable impact of creative work with social purpose at the heart. The work should be for a charity, non-profit or government body or for brands who can demonstrate they worked in partnership with a not-for-profit organisation. The work should illustrate how the campaign drove tangible results and was instrumental to cultural change or integral to achieving a brand's purpose.
C. Brand Challenges & Opportunities
Work in these categories should focus on the brand challenge or opportunity identified. The work should explain its strategic response, as well as specific channels and touchpoints chosen and why.
Work created to launch a product or service.
Rebrand/refresh of an existing brand identity for any product, service or organisation.
Work that effectively attracts new customers or drives new engagement. The work should show an increase in new business or customer activity.
Work that enhances or strengthens existing customer relationships. The work should show an increase in new business or customer activity.
Effective targeted work that responds to world events, public affairs and other real-world, real-time activity prompting social sharing and a measurable response.
Celebrating the long-term impact of creative work. The work should demonstrate how a long running campaign drove tangible business results, was instrumental to cultural change or integral to achieving a brand’s purpose. The work in this category must show results over several years.
Celebrating the measurable impact of creative work that is the result of a collaboration between brands and agencies or partner agencies to achieve a business goal. The work should demonstrate how the collaborative effort drove tangible business results.
Creative use of modest budgets and/or resources in relation to the market and/or industry to create maximum impact. The work should demonstrate how fresh insight, smart spending and compelling strategic thinking solved a business problem despite limited resources.
Brands that have creatively adapted their approach in response to competitor pressure by challenging the status quo to create game-changing work that uses progressive thinking and innovative creativity.
Brands that have creatively adapted their strategy in response to local / regional / global issues, embracing new ways of delivering their brand while showing consideration for the consumer.
D. Long-Term Brand Platform
Brand platforms that have demonstrated enduring impact over time. The brand platform must show long-term effectiveness in building brand equity, fostering loyalty and delivering measurable business results through continuous, creative communication efforts.
Three or more distinct campaigns as part of an overarching brand strategy. One of which must have been implemented after 8th February 2024.
The platform must have been in the market for at least three years.
Eligibility
To be eligible your work must have won or been shortlisted at Cannes Lions in 2022, 2023 or 2024.
Exception:
- To be eligible for category 'D01. Long-Term Brand Platform', the work must have been in the market for at least 3 years.
Is there a limit to how many times I can enter?
The same piece of work can be entered up to four times in Creative Effectiveness.
Exception:
- The same piece of work may only be entered once in ‘A. Creative Effectiveness: Sectors’.
WORLD CUP DELIVERY | PEDIDOSYA | GUT, BUENOS AIRES | GOLD, CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS LIONS | 2024
Previous Winners
It Has To Be Heinz
Cannes Lions 2024 Grand Prix Rethink, Toronto / Heinz Ketchup / 2024
Over the course of five years, Heinz rebuilt and reignited consumer love for Heinz Ketchup with a series of strategic campaigns, involving unique ideas and audience engagement, which recentered the brand and the product as an icon. The work resulted in a 12% increase in global Heinz Ketchup sales growth compared to year-over-year numbers since 2019.
IT HAS TO BE HEINZ | HEINZ KETCHUP | RETHINK, TORONTO | GRAND PRIX, CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS LIONS | 2024
Why the work won
The Creative Effectiveness Jury awarded this work the Grand Prix for exemplifying best-in-class creative strategy and execution. Jury President Harjot Singh commended it as a "textbook example" of excellence, noting that it skillfully avoided the pitfalls of constant reinvention, focusing instead on refining and optimising an already strong foundation. This approach enabled the work to stay relevant and engaging for current audiences while also establishing an enduring brand presence.
By balancing innovation with consistency, the campaign demonstrated how creative effectiveness can achieve both timely appeal and lasting impact, striking the rare “sweet spot” between contemporary relevance and timeless resonance.
IT HAS TO BE HEINZ | HEINZ KETCHUP | RETHINK, TORONTO | GRAND PRIX, CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS LIONS | 2024
Inside the Jury Room: Creative Effectiveness Lions
To hear more from the Jury and how they decided on the winning work, check out the video below.
Entries & Judging
What are the judging criteria?
A number of criteria will be considered during judging, weighted as follows: 25% idea; 25% strategy; 50% impact and results.
What do I need to provide with my entry?
To enter, you’ll need to complete an online entry form, which can be found on the Cannes Lions entry site. In the ‘Written Explanation’ section, you’ll be asked to provide the Jury with everything they need to know about your work.
You’ll also be able to submit optional supporting materials to provide additional context with your entry.
All case films, films, demo films and original content must be subtitled in English.
Detailed information outlining the entry process can be found on A Guide to the Cannes Lions Awards.
What if I don’t have all the details right away?
Don’t worry – you can fill in the form in any order and save your progress at any time while it’s still in the pending stage. However, please only check out when your entry is 100% complete as no changes can be made to your entry once you’ve clicked “Submit” and “Checkout”.
The Written Submission
Here’s the questions you’ll be asked regarding your work.
To start your entry to the Creative Effectiveness Lions, go to our Awards page.
The Jury will refer to the written explanation you provide throughout the judging process. Our advice is to provide as much relevant detail as possible.
When answering the following questions keep the main element you’re trying to celebrate in mind (e.g. the storytelling, the strategy, the craft, the use of data).
The bullet points under each question are prompts designed to guide your thinking, based on the factors the jury will be considering when reviewing your work. You might not need to use them all, and that’s totally fine. They’re there to help you consider what’s most important in your work.
Questions
The word limit for this section is 100 words.
This question is compulsory.
Please provide any brand and cultural context that would help the jury understand any cultural, national or regional nuances applicable to this work.
You should outline why this piece of work was created for this particular brand, in this market, at this particular moment in time, with all of the cultural and market conditions.
The word limit for this section is 250 words.
This question is compulsory.
Please select the objective(s) that were most important when creating this work – what the work set out to achieve.
For the jury to accurately assess the work, it must first establish its objectives. As you progress through the entry system, you must link your results back to each objective selected.
- Overachieve on brand metrics (e.g. awareness, engagement)
- Change consumer behaviour (e.g. attitudes, frequency, penetration)
- Create short-term sales growth (e.g. sales, promotions, discounts)
- Improve brand health (e.g. consideration, preference)
- Create sustained sales success (e.g. profit, sales)
- Create long-term brand and sales growth (e.g. shareholder value, retention, loyalty)
There is no word limit for this section.
This question is compulsory.
Please provide a summary of your entry.
- Describe the background and context behind the work
- What creative challenges did the work face
- Explain the solution
- Describe the execution.
This should be an overview of the work and an analysis of its effectiveness. You should describe how the objectives of the campaign have been successfully met.
The word limit for this section is 500 words.
This question is compulsory.
Tell us how the work engaged your target audience and increased awareness. Please include any metrics used to measure engagement and awareness in your narrative. Some examples of these may include but are not limited to:
- Social Shares
- Earned Impressions
- Campaign Recall
- Earned Media Placements
- Campaign Response Rate
- Campaign Reach.
The word limit for this section is 500 words.
This question is compulsory.
| Example Metric | Definition |
|---|---|
| Social Shares | Campaign shares is the number of times a campaign was shared on social media platforms. |
| Earned Impressions | Earned Impressions are instances where the campaign was shown to a consumer without the brand paying for those impressions. |
| Campaign Recall | Reach is the percentage of people that the campaign was seen by. |
| Earned Media Placements | Recall is the percentage of people that can remember seeing the campaign. |
| Campaign Response Rate | Earned Media Placements is the number of times an article was written mentioning the campaign in online or offline media (where brands would usually spend money to advertise or be featured) without being paid for in any way. |
| Campaign Reach | Response rate is the percentage of people that acted on a call to action in the campaign. |
Tell us about a behaviour breakthrough that inspired the work. Please include any metrics used to measure a change in behaviour in your narrative. Some examples of these may include but are not limited to:
- Frequency of Purchase
- Weight of Purchase
- Trial
- Repurchase
- Churn
- Penetration.
The word limit for this section is 500 words.
This question is compulsory.
| Example Metric | Definition |
|---|---|
| Frequency of Purchase | Frequency of Purchase is the average amount of times a customer purchases a product within a certain time frame. |
| Weight of Purchase | Weight of Purchase is the average amount of product a customer purchases each time they purchase the product. |
| Trial | Trial is the number of people who try a product for the first time. |
| Repurchase | Repurchase is the percentage of customers who purchase the product a second time. |
| Churn | Churn is the percentage of customers who switch away from or cease purchasing a product within a certain time period. |
| Penetration | Penetration is the percentage of people or households who use the product. |
Tell us about how the work improved your brand’s reputation and positioning. Please include any metrics used to measure brand affinity and sentiment in your narrative. Some examples of these may include but are not limited to:
- Brand Awareness
- Brand Consideration
- Brand Preference
- NPS Increase
- Purchase Intent.
The word limit for this section is 500 words.
This question is compulsory.
| Example Metric | Definition |
|---|---|
| Brand Awareness | Brand Awareness is the percentage of people who have heard of the brand. |
| Brand Consideration | Brand Consideration is the percentage of people who say they would consider purchasing from the brand. |
| Brand Preference | Brand Preference is the percentage of people who say they would choose the brand over all other competitors when given the choice. |
| NPS Increase | Net Promoter Score is the % of a brand's customers who are detractors subtracted from the % who are promoters, expressed as a number from -100 to 100. If NPS shifts from 5 to 13, NPS increases 8 points. |
| Purchase Intent | Purchase intent is the percentage of people who say that they intend to purchase the product or brand at some point in the future. |
- Please tell us about the commercial success of the work. Please include any metrics used to measure commercial success in your narrative. Some examples of these may include but are not limited to:
- Sales value/revenue increase
- Sales volume/unit increase
- Incremental sales value
- Incremental profit value
- Market share increase -value
- Market share increase - volume
- Return on investment - sales revenue
- Return on investment - profit
The word limit for this section is 500 words.
This question is compulsory.
| Example Metric | Definition |
|---|---|
| Sales value/revenue increase | Sales value is the amount of money the product is sold to the consumer for, multiplied by the amount of that product sold. |
| Sales volume/unit increase | Sales Volume is the amount of product sold – normally expressed in units. |
| Incremental sales value | Incremental Sales Value is the value of the sales that were achieved in excess of normal expectations. For example, if on an average week, a company sells $1000 worth of product, and when a campaign ran, they sold $1200 worth of product, the incremental sales value would be $200. |
| Incremental profit value | Incremental Profit Value is the value of the gross profit that was achieved from sales in excess of normal expectations. For example, if in an average week, a company sells $1000 worth of product, and their gross profit is 50% ($500) and when a campaign ran, they sold $1200 worth of product, the incremental profit value would be $100 (50% of the incremental sales). |
| Market share increase - value | Value Market Share is the % of total category sales value the company achieved. If market share went from 20% to 21.5%, the market share increase is 1.5 percentage points. |
| Market share increase - volume | Volume Market Share is the % of total category sales volume the company achieved. If market share went from 20% to 21.5%, the market share increase is 1.5 percentage points. |
| ROI - sales revenue | Return on Investment is measured by dividing incremental sales value by total campaign spend. E.g. if your incremental sales value was $2M and your campaign spend was $400,000 then your ROI would be 5.0:1. |
| ROI - profit | Profit Return on Investment is measured by dividing incremental profit value by total campaign spend. E.g. if your incremental profit value was $1M and your campaign spend was $400,000 then your PROI would be 2.5:1. |
What impact did it have in the market? Please explain what happened after the communications went live. The work should give as many examples as possible on how the communications have worked, in order to strengthen the case.
The word limit for this section is 400 words.
This question is compulsory.
Please explain if there were any other discounting factors that may have impacted on the effectiveness of your work. E.g. sales, promotions or events that occurred during the campaign period and that would have influenced the results. You may use econometrics, tests, and/or simply explain why communications were significant to the brand’s success and illustrate other key factors via charting/tables etc.
The word limit for this section is 400 words.
This question is compulsory.
- Yes
- No
This question is compulsory.
I would like the Jury to see this response when judging this work (tick box)
Please outline how this piece of work has aligned with the brand’s sustainability strategy. This could involve either operational measures to reduce the impact on the environment, and consumer strategies to encourage positive behaviour change, or both.
Please provide details of the benchmarks used for measuring the success of this piece of work’s contribution to the overall strategy. This could include, but is not limited to, targets around advertising business operations - advertising production - media planning and buying.
This question is optional.
I would like the Jury to see this response when judging this work (tick box)
Based on the brief, what consideration was given to representation and diversity of the team(s) involved?
What consideration was given to accessibility in the work and what role did DEI thinking play throughout the development of the work?
This question is optional.
If there are additional results you wish to disclose to the Jury but prefer to keep confidential, please enter them below.
The word limit for this section is 200 words.
This question is optional.
Category Specific Questions
Has this work been in the market for 3 years or more?
If you select "No," the work will not be eligible for this category.
There is no word limit for this section.
This question is compulsory for D01.
Please provide for a timeline for each campaign within the strategy.
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory for D01.
THE LAST PERFORMANCE | PARTNERS LIFE | SPECIAL AUCKLAND | BRONZE, CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS LIONS | 2024
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Everything you need to know to enter
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