Competition of Advertising 2025 passed off on 2 October at The Brewery, London (ASV Images)
Advertising Week’s Competition of Advertising as soon as once more proved unmissable in 2025. The road-up was filled with business powerhouses sharing daring concepts and real-world methods. Right here, we’ve curated a few of the key insights from the Competition’s companions.
1. Manufacturers face scrutiny in a brand new ‘objective revolution’
Manufacturers should realise that their id is solid not by what they declare to be, however by their actions on this planet – an thought captured succinctly by Javier Camino, world futures planning director at Diageo. Increasing on new client insights uncovered by Ipsos, Camino joined the analysis agency’s head of artistic excellence Eleanor Thornton Firkin in arguing {that a} new ‘objective revolution’ is about to start, powered by know-how and transparency, which can reshape how entrepreneurs craft model experiences.
Regardless of latest tendencies in direction of manufacturers abandoning or lowering purpose-led approaches, Ipsos’s new analysis reveals round 80% of individuals are extremely dedicated to no less than one trigger. In the meantime, practically a 3rd of shoppers have boycotted manufacturers they understand to have behaved badly, demonstrating there’s tangible threat in performing irresponsibly, in addition to alternative in doing the other.
What units this revolution aside is not only its scale, however the crucial for authenticity from companies. “Connecting what individuals care about with what your model stands for creates the chance for model development,” stated Thornton Firkin. However Camino added a vital caveat: “It can’t be one thing that isn’t linked to our manufacturers or to what we do, as a result of it won’t be actual. It must be actual.”
2. Make individuals smile to drive promoting impression
Triggering constructive emotion doubles the industrial impression of out-of-home (OOH) promoting, in keeping with insights shared by Rajvi Kantaria, director of selling at JCDecaux, and Andrew Tindall, senior vice-president at System1. Their analysis, drawn from testing over 1,000 poster adverts in collaboration with 80 manufacturers, reveals adverts that evoke shock, happiness or nostalgia generate twice the industrial impact in comparison with impartial adverts.
Doing so may very well be an antidote to a few of the worrying tendencies in model constructing Tindall highlighted. Regardless of a 30% real-terms enhance in media spend over the previous 15 years, the variety of brand-building results generated by adverts has declined yr on yr, he famous, citing analysis performed by System1 utilizing Effies award case research. He emphasised that emotional adverts outperform much less emotional ones in constructing model, which drives enterprise outcomes like revenue and market share.
JCDecaux’s Rajvi Kantaria explains the facility of constructive emotion in poster adverts (ASV Images)
Kantaria underlined that OOH, a channel recognized for broad attain and excessive consideration, nonetheless holds robust brand-building energy however requires creativity that triggers constructive feelings to really carry out. Including to the 9 tips for creating an efficient poster, unveiled by JCDecaux and System1 ultimately yr’s Competition of Advertising, Kantaria introduced a brand new tenth perception gleaned from additional analysis: “make them smile”. In so doing, manufacturers can reap the benefits of the hyperlink between constructive emotional response and higher industrial outcomes. The earlier 9 tips included recommendation comparable to limiting poster advert copy to 10 phrases, utilizing distinguished branding and showcasing faces to seize consideration.
3. Manufacturers should keep away from converging on the identical AI ways
A convergence of AI instruments is making a “bottleneck” in advertising effectiveness, in keeping with Anna Rashid, chief innovation officer at Tangerine Communications. She likened the scenario to a “visitors jam”, the place manufacturers all use the identical optimisation strategies to compete for shoppers’ consideration. This saturation of comparable messaging challenges manufacturers to interrupt by the noise by shifting past concept and specializing in individuals’s lived expertise.
Rashid described a “compression tradition”, the place shoppers count on prompt, easy engagement amidst overwhelming digital stimuli, which in flip encourages elevated “defensiveness” in opposition to advertising, evidenced by their use of advert blockers and curated social content material feeds. Entrepreneurs should recognise that spotlight is a scarce foreign money, making authenticity and relevance paramount; conversely, the success of creators and influencers illustrates the facility of real connection.
Rashid urged manufacturers to rethink their methods by constructing exclusivity and aligning with the place audiences really spend their time. She gave the instance of Primark, which is ready to flip content material spherical shortly in response to altering cultural contexts. The retailer makes use of knowledge to adapt and embrace creativity that resonates with actual human indicators. Shared measurement frameworks additionally shift stakeholders’ mindsets away from simply effectivity, so Primark’s advertising can transfer “on the pace of tradition”.
4. Creators inject authenticity into model constructing
Model advertising is present process vital shifts pushed by the creator financial system. For instance Hazan Aydın Yeşilova, head of Baileys at Diageo, described how the liqueur model has repositioned from a seasonal to an all-year “grownup deal with” model, partaking creators it calls the “deal with squad” in long-term partnerships. Reasonably than growing marketing campaign briefs and signing off ideas as earlier than, Baileys has given the group model immersion periods and extra artistic freedom, fostering genuine, accessible content material that aligns with social media consumption and ‘treats’ tradition. Backed up by paid media, the exercise has led to elevated advert recall and model consciousness in its test-and-learn section.
In the meantime, Oatly’s world media and model partnerships director Sarah Sutton highlighted the drink’s transformation from sustainability-centric messaging to a life-style model targeted on constructive indulgence and beverage tradition. Creators and influencers are a “enormous half” of its advertising combine now, she stated, though that required a cultural shift with the in-house artistic staff ceding some management.
Whalar’s Emma Harman, Diageo’s Hazan Aydın Yeşilova and Oatly’s Sarah Sutton talk about creators and influencers (ASV Images)
The Competition panel session, hosted by Whalar, highlighted the significance of social listening and neighborhood insights from on-the-ground knowledgeable groups, to know altering tradition and client behaviour. As Aydın Yeşilova additionally famous, funding in creator content material is beginning to be clearly validated by ROI from improved model metrics and its effectivity in driving short-term gross sales.
5. Good digital technique underpins trendy luxurious branding
Harrods’ digital evolution provided an perception into mixing heritage with innovation. Danielle Corridor, Harrods’ product supervisor, revealed how the division retailer model approaches digital experiences, balancing its 176-year legacy with trendy know-how. In adopting a brand new digital platform final yr, Harrods sought to rework its web site and app right into a seamless luxurious digital storefront that helps each on-line and in-store buyer journeys.
A standout success was the 2025 introduction calendar launch. Three variations have been launched completely on the app for the primary 24 hours, with its perfume calendar promoting out in below 5 hours. It required dependable back-end programs to help the high-demand marketing campaign, making certain correct inventory availability and a easy basket expertise for these pre-ordering the calendars whereas looking for different items.
Harrods additionally works carefully with Contentful to energy its digital content material technique. Central to that is the usage of knowledge to personalise content material and affords on the proper time, so it doesn’t simply really feel like one other ecommerce website. Prospects’ shopping historical past helps decide the editorial styling content material introduced on the homepage and the merchandise showcased to enrich that.
Wanting ahead, Corridor mentioned the long run position of AI assistants within the purchasing expertise throughout the retail sector. She instructed session moderator Laura Thornley, EMEA director of area advertising at Contentful, that AI’s affect on buyer journeys is rising throughout the sector and retail manufacturers will in the end want to consider carry parts of their service into that – whether or not by personalised purchasing recommendation and even tailoring.
6. Measurement is a game-changer for ‘ecosystem’ manufacturers
Capturing the total impression of selling throughout touchpoints is a significant problem for manufacturers whose companies attain throughout quite a few layers – like bodily merchandise, licensing and media. For them, Lego’s advertising effectiveness journey affords precious classes. Inés Nadal, Lego’s senior director of worldwide advertising efficiency, defined: “We now have probably the most well-known manufacturers on this planet, however with a really distinctive ecosystem spanning conventional and digital touchpoints, from Legoland to Fortnite collaborations.”
This complexity required Lego to construct customized measurement fashions, working carefully with Ekimetrics, for campaigns comparable to its latest partnership with Nike and its collaboration with the 2025 Miami Grand Prix, the place the model created life-size drivable Formulation 1 vehicles created from practically 400,000 bricks every.
Lego and Ekimetrics constructed a system that measured each short- and long-term model results throughout every channel and marketing campaign, to work out their gross sales contributions. Because of this the model can optimise media budgets by reallocating spend away from underperforming channels, and decide what proportions of its advertising needs to be paid or earned. This has already led to double-digit media effectivity enhancements, Nadal stated.
7. Associates are innovating to develop model engagement
As creators and influencers are demonstrating, authenticity is a rising power driving manufacturers’ skill to earn client consideration – and that additionally extends into specialist media, marketplaces and affiliate companions. Nike’s partnership with the Sole Provider, facilitated by Awin, is a working example. The footwear-focused media model has deep neighborhood roots and knowledgeable ‘sneakerhead’ employees, offering information and launch details about trainers within the UK and European markets.
As Competition attendees heard, one marketing campaign repositioned Nike’s operating class amid rising competitors from area of interest manufacturers comparable to Hoka. By trusting Sole Provider’s experience, Nike enabled a content material creator and avid runner throughout the Sole Provider staff to craft content material centred on trainers that featured the Nike product vary. This method emphasised model authenticity over scripted advertising, reaffirming Nike’s relevance to focused operating communities.
One other progressive marketing campaign capitalised on rising tendencies with Nike’s P6000 coach. Right here, pattern recognizing by Soul Provider’s staff and gross sales knowledge knowledgeable agile, full-funnel advertising throughout social and app platforms, mixing natural pleasure with shoppable moments.
A last instance showcased a dwell purchasing stream embedded on Nike’s website for Black Friday, co-hosted by Sole Provider, permitting real-time interactive purchasing experiences. The partnership exemplifies the progressive approaches accessible to manufacturers by affiliate channels.
