Monday July 28th 2008

Consumer promotions, trade deals, retailer support, direct mail & media advertising are internal competitors for marketing funds. Instead of complementing each other they often act in counter productive ways. And many marketers like it that way and encourage dissonance not harmony

Many companies organise, separate and distance their several marketing activities. The result is a series of fractured communication messages, creating uncertainty among prospects and delivering marketing ineffectiveness.

Try these for size. All are current in the UK,are alive and active. You may recognise these & other from your own experiences

1. A major financial institution structures in its own marketing ineffectiveness. Its on the ground High Street branch marketing is isolated from its direct marketing business targeting existing customers, which in turn is at arm's length from any brand advertising.
2. A major retailer organises its branches not only as a separate profit centre but as a stand alone Limited Liability Company, quite distinct from its central media function, which is outside the P&L of any operating business.
3. A leading marketing director discourages any parallel investigation of the marketing effectiveness of his advertising & sales promotions for fears that the sales promotions might be seen to work best and he loses his advertising budget
4. Another marketing director has responsibility for advertising but no responsibility for trade deals which are the responsibility of a separate sales director who does not report to the marketing director.

With some management remunerated on a commercial set of criteria such as volume, sales & short term metrics & with others remunerated on marketing metrics such as brand standing, image & value, it comes as no surprise that these organisations struggle to demonstrate cost effectiveness from their marketing communications.

It's understandable for critics to be concerned about our limited ability to capture interpret and understand all about marketing effectiveness. But spare a thought for the humble analysts trying to make sense of a set of disordered and incoherent input and outputs brought about more by the client who is paying the bill than by the operation charging the fees.

To assess from where the most cost effective marketing comes, identify the organisations that integrate and manage commercial communications under holistic management. They are the clients really worth working for.

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.