​Effies Europe shared data from all entries received between 2011 and 2015 and Dan White coded them along a number of criteria to identify the ingredients for success.

The analysis discovered what separated the Gold/Silver winners (i.e entries with sales effects that were thoroughly proven) from the less effective campaigns (i.e. entries that didn't show strong proof sales effectiveness).

The findings highlighted four key success criteria:
1) Start with a single, simple idea that captures your audience’s imagination and conjures up the right associations for your brand
2) Ensure thematic and aesthetic coherence across all campaign elements
3) Bring the idea to life by combining paid media and owned media, with each element having a clear role in the mix
4) Plan how to maximise additional exposure through news/word of mouth

For the full story, you can read this short article.