Affinity and AJF Partnership score one award each at IPA Effectiveness Awards in London

Data driven media, CX and advertising agency Affinity is one of only two Australian agencies to win a prestigious IPA Effectiveness Award for its Narellan Pools campaign, announced overnight. The other Australian winner was AJF Partnership for Officeworks.

The UK-based IPA is widely recognised as the most influential professional body for those working in advertising and marketing communications. All 39 campaigns shortlisted at the 2016 Effectiveness Awards automatically receive a prize, with the specific category announced at a gala ceremony in London on November 2.

Affinity was shortlisted for its work on Narellan Pools, an innovative data-driven campaign that delivered incremental sales ROI of $54 for every dollar spent. It used weather data to identify the specific factors that acted as the tipping-point for consumers considering buying a pool across its 49 individual regional and metro centres. It then used programmatic buying tools that were only activated when those conditions were met – the first time programmatic has been used to turn activity on and off in real-time based on specific conditions in different regions. In addition to increasing sales by 23%, Affinity also reduced Narellan’s media spend by 30%.

On Thursday night, the same campaign is up for a total of six Australian Effie Awards. It has already won an MFA Award for Best Use of Data, MSix Award for Clever Use of Data and two gold and a silver the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards.

Says Luke Brown, CEO, Affinity: “We’re thrilled our campaign for Narellan has now also been recognised by the IPA as delivering outstanding return on investment. For an independent Sydney agency to go head to head with some of the world’s biggest brands and most famous names in advertising, shows that while other agencies talk about the creative use of big data, Affinity is actually delivering on it and more importantly producing real results for our clients.”

Says Dame Dianne Thompson, chairman of judges, IPA Effectiveness Awards and former CEO, Camelot: “The 39 shortlisted campaigns provide absolute proof that marketing improves a business’s bottom-line. For anyone looking at how creative ideas can be turned into commercial success, look no further than these exemplary cases. Congratulations to all those who have made it onto this prestigious list.”

Says Bridget Angear, convenor of judges and joint chief strategy officer, AMV BBDO: “This year, as always, the judges were incredibly impressed with the stellar line-up of cases. The shortlisted entries showcase a diverse and fascinating range of learning and the standard of entries is a testament to the ever higher standards the industry sets for itself.”

Affinity was also named Campaign Asia Pacific Bronze winners in both the Independent and Digital Agency of the Year categories in 2015.

To see a full list of winners click here.