Creative 4 Times More Important than Media Plan

I read this week that a study in the US had established that the quality of advertising creative work is 4 times more important than the media plan in driving sales. I wonder if this same “4 x” score applies to China?

It amazes me the quantity of appalling ATL Creative work I see in this country with seemingly enormous media budgets behind them. One current example is for China Union Pay that I have seen as a 48 sheet outdoor ad, print ad and now in my apartment lift in Shanghai – see pic. The creative idea is weak to start with but the execution/perspective/retouching is terrible (worse that I would ever consider presenting to a Client as a visual, let alone Final Artwork).

And China Union Pay should know better. They are one of a number of state owned/state invested companies that have ambitions far beyond The Great Wall of Mediocrity, in an outside world where this quality of creative would be ridiculed.

John Solomon from Enovate, a Youth Marketing Research Company in China (www.enovatechina.com) was saying at an event this week that there was a shift to quality appearing in the China youth, so maybe there hope yet for Chinese companies to realise that “quality” starts with decent creative work!