MARKETING
Demand More Accountability from Advertising
I
f you are like most top business cial featuring “Mean Joe Green,”
executives, you should be con- which won critical acclaim along
cerned with ROI (return on invest- with a Clio Award. What few peo-
ment) on ad spending. Market- ple realize is that Sergio Zyman,
ing ROI is not a luxury for today’s one of Coke’s marketers, chose to
business—it is a must-have. Un- pull the ad because it wasn’t lead-
fortunately, for the business own- ing to higher sales despite being
er it’s also one of the most difficult well received by the public.
things to measure in a retail envi- To Zyman, building a brand im-
ronment. As such, the ability to do age is subordinate to achieving
it right is fast becoming a competi- your main goal—selling more
tive advantage. products. Because the bottom
Gone are the days of blindly line was results, Zyman was able
throwing darts—accompanied by to collect and analyze sales data,
reams of cash—at a board and hop- eventually eliminating an ad that
ing an ad will resonate with the pub- everyone liked. Here are some tips
lic. Gone, too, are the days when on how to hold your advertising
marketing was viewed as being just to the same standard:
a cost or expense. Today, ad spend-
• Remember your target mar-
ing is an investment that demands
ket. Accurately defining who po-
accountability. As a decision maker,
tential customers are and what
you want a frequent accounting of
segment(s) you want to approach
an ad’s effectiveness, as well as the
are critical to developing effective
likely returns on future campaigns.
ads.
Over time, the demand for ac-
• Develop a relevant message.
countability in ad spending has
Whether you’re trying to commu-
helped usher in better measure-
nicate to a broad swath of poten-
ment tools. Increasing amounts of
tial buyers or a narrow segment, if
data and better tracking methods
you don’t develop a relevant mes-
are now being used to measure re-
sage you’ll just be wasting ad dol-
sponses and gather feedback on
lars.
• Pick your channel of com-
products, allowing businesses to make more calcu-
munication. Put some thought into what adver-
lated and less emotion-driven decisions about mar-
tising medium you should use to reach your target.
keting strategy and branding.
Many small-business decision makers are more in-
In a bygone era, marketing strategies were rooted
terested in the least expensive options over the
in the belief that ultra-expensive, splashy ads or ads
most effective options. Think of the problem from
that tugged at the heartstrings would translate into
the customer’s point of view to see which advertis-
sales. A good example would be Coke’s commer-
ing vehicles make sense.
1 ThinkBusiness June 2009 1
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