This is the 30th year of the IPA Effectiveness Awards and they remain unsurpassed in their importance. I've said it before and I will not worry about saying it again: nothing is as important to our industry as proving the vital contribution that advertising makes to creating, maintaining and growing the bottom line. These Awards do precisely that.

So congratulations to everyone involved, both in this and in previous years. Thirty years of insight, rigour and dedication have built one of the most valuable data sources in the global marketing world.

Confidence is creeping back into marketing and communications departments, and marketing investment is recovering and reshaping. But it will be a very long time before anyone gets complacent. We are all only too aware of the fragility of economic recovery and of organisations' ability to invest. These studies help all of us make the hard business case for continuing to advertise through the tough times.

I am particularly delighted that Hovis is the 2010 Grand Prix winner. Hovis was a big brand back when these Awards were born, with an enviable track record of producing standout advertising. Despite ups and downs in the intervening decades, Hovis' fundamental product and brand strengths were just waiting to be restated and revived. And what a revival it was. Despite being at the start of recession, they put their faith in big brand advertising, stunning creativity and substantial media spend. We all know now that it paid off handsomely, but how many of us truly would have been as brave as Premier Foods?

Hovis also brings to life the recent research findings, from the IPA and The Gunn Report, in association with Thinkbox, which prove that highly awarded creative campaigns, naturally combined with strong strategy and media, are 11 times more efficient at driving market share growth than non-creatively awarded campaigns.

Thinkbox is proud to sponsor these Awards. Like the IPA Effectiveness Awards and Hovis, TV advertising goes from strength to strength. Innovation and evolution, with new formats and platforms for advertisers to explore, are making TV's role at the heart of successful advertising campaigns even more assured.

Tess Alps, chief executive, Thinkbox