In an industry that talks endlessly about creativity, few conversations focus on what actually delivers commercial return. But a new global study may have just reset the benchmarks.

First unveiled at Cannes Lions 2025, The Creative Dividend – a global research initiative by Mark Ritson, System1, and Effie Worldwide – has quickly become one of the most talked-about pieces of marketing evidence this year. With over 1,250 campaigns analysed, representing US$140 billion in market share and more than 200,000 consumer responses, it reframes how we think about creative value – and where it multiplies best.

Their findings identify three core drivers of commercial effectiveness – emotion, fluency, and time in market. When all three are present, campaign performance doesn’t just improve – it compounds.

And while the research is global, its implications are deeply relevant to New Zealand marketers, who often operate with leaner budgets, broader remits, and more pressure to deliver results fast.

Because when you study what the world’s most profitable campaigns get right – and then ask where those conditions still exist – one channel continues to stand out.

Television.

‘When creativity is strong, TV makes it stronger. When memory matters, TV delivers it better. And when time is the multiplier, TV compounds best.’
– Mark Ritson

A Proven Framework for Creative That Works

The Creative Dividend introduces what Ritson calls the Creativity Stack – three evidence-backed levers that consistently drive profitable growth:

1. Emotion – because people act on what they feel
2. Fluency – because mental availability drives buying
3. Time in Market – because effectiveness compounds

Each lever on its own delivers value. But when all three are working together, campaign performance increases exponentially. The study shows that campaigns optimised for all three can return up to 21× more profit than those that neglect them.

For New Zealand brands under pressure to build equity and deliver outcomes, that’s not just interesting – it’s commercially critical.

Emotion: The Most Powerful Multiplier

The most influential driver in the study was emotion. Campaigns that sparked an emotional response – joy, empathy, tension, nostalgia, humour – were more likely to create memorable impressions and lasting brand impact.

‘Emotion builds memory, makes it more useful, and supercharges media spend.’
– Mark Ritson

And when it comes to emotional storytelling at scale, television still leads. With its combination of sight, sound, story, and national reach, TV delivers emotional resonance in ways most platforms can’t replicate.

In a world of bite-sized content and scroll-past moments, emotion is often diluted. But in TV environments – where stories unfold, characters evolve, and viewers stay tuned – campaigns have the space to connect.

If memory drives behaviour, and emotion drives memory, then TV remains one of the few places where campaigns can still embed.

Fluency: Make Your Brand Instinctive

Even the most moving ad can fail if viewers don’t connect it to the brand. That’s where fluency comes in – the ability for people to instantly recognise and recall your brand without effort.

‘If you pack your creative with the right brand cues, your work becomes more commercially effective. It’s that simple.’
– Mark Ritson

Fluency is built through distinctive brand assets: colours, shapes, faces, taglines, sonic cues, characters, packaging. And TV gives those assets the visibility, repetition, and scale they need to stick.

In high-attention environments, the viewer’s brain has time to process and store those cues – building mental availability that pays off when the buying moment arrives.

When fluency is missing, marketing has to work harder. When fluency is strong, everything else becomes easier – from awareness to conversion.

Time in Market: Let the Work Work

The third driver – time – may be the most misunderstood.

Many campaigns are pulled after six to twelve weeks, often due to internal pressure, perceived fatigue, or shifting priorities. But Ritson’s data suggests that wear-out is largely a myth – and that most effective campaigns actually wear in.

‘Most campaigns underperform not because they’re poor, but because they’re pulled too early.’
– Andrew Tindall, Magic Numbers

The most profitable campaigns in the study ran for two to three years. That extended presence allowed emotion and fluency to do their work – building brand memory, increasing recognition, and strengthening business results.

Television offers the structure to support that. Scheduled placements, audience consistency, and predictable frequency create the conditions for creative longevity.

And in a New Zealand context – where media fragmentation can dilute continuity – TV remains a powerful way to keep campaigns running, recognisable, and reinforcing.

Why It Matters in New Zealand

For marketers operating in this market – where resources are limited and campaign effectiveness is non-negotiable – The Creative Dividend offers a timely reminder:

Strong creative still works.

And it works even harder when emotion, fluency and time are working together.

‘Campaigns don’t fail because they’re not good enough. They fail because we didn’t give them the chance to succeed.’
– Summary Insight, The Creative Dividend

Television enables that chance.

It provides the attention.

It supports emotional storytelling.

It amplifies brand cues.

And it gives ideas the time to grow.

A Strategy Lens for Smarter Planning

As planning cycles begin for the next financial year, this research provides a useful lens – not a rulebook, but a high-performance checklist:

• Are we building for emotion, not just messaging?
• Are our brand assets distinctive, consistent, and present early?
• Can this campaign run long enough to be remembered?
• Are we choosing media environments that support depth, not just reach?

TV supports all four – and gives creative campaigns the conditions to succeed, repeatedly.

Final Thought

Months on from its launch, marketers around the world are still unpacking what The Creative Dividend means for how we brief, plan, and invest.

But for brands in New Zealand, one conclusion is already clear.

If you want to do more with less – to build equity without burning cash – and to make creative a multiplier, not a cost – then TV remains one of the most effective platforms to do it.

When you put great creative in the right environment, it works harder.

When you give it time, it works smarter.

And when you choose television – it works longer.

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Sources and References

• The Creative Dividend Report – Effie Worldwide x System1 x Mark Ritson
  ‍https://system1group.com/the-creative-dividend‍
• Campaign Brief – ‘System1 and Effie Worldwide launch groundbreaking report – The Creative Dividend’
  ‍https://campaignbrief.com/system1-and-effie-worldwide-launch-groundbreaking-report-the-creative-dividend‍
• Roast Brief – ‘Mark Ritson at Cannes Lions 2025 – The Creative Dividend is real. Here’s how to earn it’
  ‍https://roastbrief.us/mark-ritson-at-cannes-lions-2025-the-creative-dividend-is-real-heres-how-to-earn-it‍
• WARC – ‘How to make your creative drive profit’
  ‍https://www.warc.com/content/feed/ritson-how-to-make-your-creative-drive-profit/en-GB/10714