Three Effie Award winners with the same lesson

You know that consistency works. That the long term pays off. That building a brand takes time. And yet, with every quarterly report, there’s that pressure to try something new: a different campaign style, a different target audience, a different message. But is that really the way to go?

At EffieFest 2026, three Effie winners presented their approaches: Texels Bier, Jean Bâton, and Albert Heijn. Three completely different brands, budgets, and organizations. Their takeaways all boiled down to the same thing, and they pinpointed exactly where things most often go wrong in practice.

"For me, these presentations really highlighted how important that long-term perspective is, and why it’s so important for a brand not only to test individual creations, but also to look at the bigger picture." — Melissa van 't Hart, research coordinator at Validators

Sticking with one theme, year after year

All three winners work within a single clear theme and stick to it—through quarterly pressures, through internal discussions, and through trends that come and go.

After being acquired by Heineken, Texels Bier deliberately built its own unique brand universe. Everything reflected the island’s style: the campaigns, the packaging, the website, even a chàààààtbot sheep. The foundation for this was laid on Texel itself. The team visited the brewery to get a feel for what the brand was all about. That feeling was then incorporated into every detail.

"They then translated that feeling into their—as they put it—'universe,' down to the smallest details. Capturing that feeling, maintaining consistency, and exercising a little patience enabled them to achieve their goal." — Lieke Swinkels, insight consultant at Validators

Jean Bâton did the same with a €140,000 budget and a small team. Their idea? Turning fries into “pâtât.” Simple. Relatable. Consistently applied across every channel, every format, and every news story. As a result, they stand out in a category filled with much larger competitors. The focus that a limited budget demands turned out to be their greatest strength.

"By consistently applying this approach across all their communications, they dare to be just a little different from their competitors, and that’s exactly what makes them stand out." - Lieke Swinkels, insight consultant at Validators

Albert Heijn started brainstorming their Christmas commercial a year in advance. Planning a year ahead, even as the world was in a state of uncertainty. They chose a theme that reflected that mood and stuck with it. (They did mention, however, that they had a Plan B up their sleeve.)

"I thought it was great to see that Albert Heijn combines long-term thinking with flexibility." - Lieke Swinkels, insight consultant at Validators

Is your theme worth keeping?

A study by SWOCC confirmed this during the festival: Effie winners are almost always long-term campaigns. Campaigns that conveyed the same message year after year, but in a fresh way each time.

"All three brands are based on a single theme, which is carried forward year after year. This repetition makes the brand recognizable and leaves a stronger impression on consumers." — July-Ann Meijer, junior insight consultant

The question is whether you have evidence that your theme is worth sticking with. And whether you can defend that evidence when things get tough internally. Brand research and brand tracking provide that evidence. They show whether the bigger picture makes sense, whether your theme is gaining traction in terms of recall and recognition, and whether your brand universe is resonating with consumers as intended.

Knowing the lesson is one thing; sticking with it is another

July-Ann Meijer: "For me, the key takeaways are:

Long-term consistency builds strong brands

Effective marketing doesn't have to require a big budget

"Build a universe, not just individual campaigns"

The power of consistency is well known, but dear marketer: keep at it when the pressure mounts! And if you want evidence or validation, you know where to find us.