Measuring results often comes only after a campaign has ended. The careers of Jamie Peate and Claire Miller demonstrate a different model, one in which effectiveness is placed at the beginning of the process and influences the brief, creative strategy, decision-making criteria and the way an organisation learns from its own work.
The European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) and Effie Awards Europe have named them the first recipients of the EACA Legends of Effectiveness Award. Peate received the recognition as the former Global Head of Effectiveness and Retail at McCann, while Miller serves as Global Head of Strategy Planning at The LEGO Group.
The award was introduced to mark the 30th anniversary of Effie Awards Europe, in partnership with Google and Kantar. Rather than assessing a single piece of work or an individual business result, the jury evaluated the nominees’ long-term contributions to building the systems, knowledge and cultures that connect creativity with measurable business impact.
During his 21 years working on Aldi, Peate helped develop an approach based on emotional creativity, rigorous measurement and continuous learning. The work accompanied the retailer’s transformation from a challenger brand into a major force in the UK grocery market. Among his more enduring contributions to the discipline is the Four Os framework, which connects four elements: Orientation, Objectives, Outputs and Outcomes.
Although he retired from McCann earlier this year, Peate continues to work as an effectiveness consultant for European brands. He dedicated the recognition to people working in agencies, companies or as independent professionals who strive to make their shared work “as creatively effective as it can be, so it delivers the very best results for profit, people and planet.”
Miller developed a similar principle on the client side. At The LEGO Group, she embedded effectiveness across the entire process, from briefing and strategic planning to evaluation and applying lessons to future projects. The jury particularly highlighted the way she connected high creative ambition with commercial accountability, ensuring that measurement did not remain a final reporting exercise but became one of the foundations of marketing decision-making.
Miller traces her approach back to her early days at BMP and the influence of Les Binet. Her goal, she said, was to develop strategies that clearly connect ambitious creative work with tangible and accountable marketing and business objectives. Her experience working with Effie Europe and the global Effie organisation, as a juror, co-chair and member of the steering committee, further shaped her understanding of effectiveness in a constantly changing media landscape.
The selection of the first recipients intentionally brings together two sides of the same discipline. Peate built capabilities within an agency, while Miller embedded them into the management of a global brand. They will receive their awards on 3 December at the Effie Europe Awards ceremony in Brussels.
