Advertisements do not age: why investing in creativity pays

Marketing and communications managers commonly feel that advertising campaign assets—concepts, videos, and images—tend to age and must continually be replaced. The findings of a recent empirical study are therefore interesting: they show the opposite, with useful implications for developing corporate communication.

Advertising: the evidence from System1

The data do not lie—as reported by MarketingWeek using System1 data—and include the following cases.

The case of advertising campaigns used for 19 years without any significant loss of effectiveness.
An analysis correlating the performance of various campaigns repeated during 2020–2022, showing a strong correlation between the scores obtained in 2020 and those in 2022, and therefore that good campaigns remained good.

What are the lessons for communication strategy?

This reveals interesting insights—particularly given how substantial advertising video production costs can be—on which to build corporate communication strategy, both at the corporate level and in support of key products expected to remain on the market for several years.

1. You may already have a treasure

Tempting as it may be to renew everything, reusing materials already commissioned and produced—if they were successful originally—can play an important role in communication and marketing strategy, freeing resources to focus on new product launches or developments such as changes in positioning, new ESG activities, and events.

2. Good promotional campaign assets last for years

Working carefully at the outset to produce quality content pays off, with better results from the start and the opportunity to reuse that quality content successfully. Investment planning must therefore take the multiyear nature of these assets into account.

The role of Smartitaly Communications

At Smartitaly Communications, our approach is consistent with this evidence. We always begin by analyzing existing materials to make the most of them, and we can support companies in developing and implementing a communication strategy that includes innovative tools such as brand journalism, the production of video content, and the use of Web3 technologies, always with the utmost attention to quality. We manage core processes internally and involve recognized industry-leading partners who can work with us to build communication that represents a true investment for the company.