What’s the Value of an Idea These Days?

I’m a great believer in the truth that the universe provides what you need when you need it. I’m also a really big fan of the advertising industry or more particularly, the concept of an advertising agency. I think agencies are extraordinary places filled with brilliant, creative people who collectively just want to solve problems with creativity. 

Yet, our industry has taken a real beating over the last number of years. It’s evolving and changing, and that is necessary, but in all that change, the true value of creativity feels like it’s been forgotten, or worse, undersold.

You might despair, but then as I said, the universe has got you! Creativity is special. It is valuable and used well, it creates powerful change. That’s exactly what is exemplified by our recruitment campaign for the Samaritans, which was just awarded an elusive gold Effie.

A remarkable individual in our agency discovered that the Samaritans, especially since the pandemic, have not been recruiting enough volunteers to train for their essential 24-hour helpline. It was proving especially difficult to staff the nightshifts, a critical time to be available for anyone in distress. Taking this challenge back to the agency, one individual became a whole gang of diverse, creative thinkers, who knew they could solve this. That the right idea, brilliantly applied, can solve anything that involves people.

It started with a clear problem, we need more volunteers, but not just anyone. We need listeners, because that’s what a Samaritan is - a listener. Then there was a useful insight; the average call to the Samaritans lasts 26 minutes. From here, a brilliantly simple solution was devised. Let’s find listeners through their media choices. Let’s use media that is all about intentional, extended listening, and we’ll build our message organically into these mediums at exactly the 26th minute.

We partnered with Headstuff, producers of over 20 podcasts and the live storytelling events – Seanchoíche. With only a total media investment of just €2,500, there was a 260% uplift in visits to the Samaritans volunteer page.  Most importantly, the Samaritans were able to fill two training groups of new volunteers.

Proving the value of creativity is so important and a couple of Effies (this campaign won a silver too, just sayin’!) is one good way to capture that impact. At Droga5 Dublin, part of Accenture Song, we believe outsized creativity delivers outsized impact, and that’s the standard we’re pushing for daily. When you get to deliver that impact for an organisation as worthy as the Samaritans, it feels even better and a timely reminder that what we do has a big value.