Monday July 21st 2008

Such a shame that for so many, the concept of marketing effectiveness is "tacked-on" as a begrudged after thought once the campaign is complete.

The best marketing effectiveness processes that we have identified, build in market research as an integral element, not only of campaign development but also as a feed back loop in the campaign execution.

If you want some further insight beyond this Blogit with Billett commentary, you can turn to no better source than the excellent series of IPA Advertising Effectiveness Awards volumes, now spanning many years. This is a first class collection of the best the effectiveness industry can assemble. Instead of checking out examples of what works best, take a view on how research has been used across the wide spectrum of published entries

What you find is the sequential use of research, first to aid establishing the communication message, and then later to post rationalise the reasons for effectiveness. Hardly at all will you find examples where research is built in so that as the campaign develops and responses build up, so the communication planners & marketing services buyers amend & change the campaign in response to changing consumer behaviour.

Richard Abbott, Marketing Magazine's Deputy Editor recently picked up on the necessity for research to be "more than raw data supplied" and for researchers to "come up with insight that can be injected directly into a business for immediate positive results.

Active research from developments such as web-polling, text response & behaviour auditing, among others, is changing the manner and speed with which marketing effectiveness can be measured & enhanced. There is a small but fast growing portfolio of evidence that faster response to consumer behaviour, increases marketing effectiveness, brand margins & profits

It's sad that the marketing business, that prides itself on being a leader in effecting consumer change, is so luddite and conservative when it comes to effecting change to itself

For a range of commentary on advertising, media & marketing issues, John Billett's personal "Blogit with Billett" is at www.johnbillett.com (& click on "Blog" on the Home Page) or go direct to http://blog.johnbillett.com.