It’s been a week since we received IPA Effectiveness Accreditation. The recognition matters, but the reflection matters more.
Too often, “effectiveness” gets flattened into a binary. Brand vs. response, long term versus short term, effectiveness as a counterpoint to efficiency.
True effectiveness isn’t about picking sides. It’s about balance: the quick wins that fuel growth today, alongside the brand investment that sustains it tomorrow. The efficiency of smart buying, alongside the creativity that multiplies impact.
That’s why the IPA’s framework matters. It doesn’t just ask for great case studies; it asks if effectiveness is part of the culture. Do we plan, measure and make decisions with discipline? Do we create the conditions for both short- and long-term results to thrive?
For us, that shows up in practical ways:
- 1. Our EffGroup making effectiveness a shared habit across teams
- 2. Our Real-time Charity Scorecard turning data into better decisions
- 3. The Integration Effect study with MetaMetrics and GOOD showing how brand and fundraising reinforce each other when they work together.
The reminder, a week on, is simple. Effectiveness isn’t a binary. It’s a discipline. A habit of balancing, experimenting, and learning, so we can prove that creativity delivers results not just in the moment, but over time.
Accreditation isn’t an endpoint. It’s a prompt to keep proving the work works, not just once a year in a case study, but every day in how we plan, measure and create.
