CMOs, Start Thinking Like Investment Managers†

Talk Like Them, Too: Marketers Must Explain How Their Strategy Decisions Drive Shareholder Value

Advertising Age, October 19, 2007 — They say the first stage of starting a revolution is to begin with the language. OK, here's an attempt: What if marketers started to change the marketing lexicon? For example, instead of referring to the marketing budget, what if they were to call it a loan? One that needs to be paid back, with interest? And that ROI should be recast as a profit or loss? And advertising and marketing channels should be viewed as alternative investment funds designed to maximize marketing profits?

CMOs, Start Thinking Like Investment Managers†

Talk Like Them, Too: Marketers Must Explain How Their Strategy Decisions Drive Shareholder Value

Advertising Age, October 17, 2007 — They say the first stage of starting a revolution is to begin with the language. OK, here's an attempt: What if marketers started to change the marketing lexicon? For example, instead of referring to the marketing budget, what if they were to call it a loan? One that needs to be paid back, with interest? And that ROI should be recast as a profit or loss? And advertising and marketing channels should be viewed as alternative investment funds designed to maximize marketing profits?

Seeking Higher ROI? Base Strategy on Customer Equity†

Why CMOs Need to Pay Closer Attention to a New Metric to Focus Investments on the Most Profitable Actions

Advertising Age, September 12, 2007 — There are many ways to invest marketing dollars to try to grow revenue, but how many of them really work — and how can we tell which ones will be profitable? Smart companies increasingly are realizing that marketing-investment decisions need to be based on apples-to-apples comparisons, and customer equity is the strategic metric that makes that possible.

Marketing Mix Push by Parade Ups Stakes for Media Owners†

Staid Sunday Magazine Boosts Sales 20% for P&G, Kraft, Campbell

Advertising Age, September 10, 2007 — It turns out that Parade, the venerable, some might say frumpy, Sunday magazine inextricably linked to the struggling newspaper industry, is a return-on-investment powerhouse.

At least that's what marketing-mix modeling the publication commissioned from Information Resources Inc. appears to show, in a move that increases the pressure on other media players to similarly prove their worth.

Target Marketing Priorities Survey: Direct Marketing Generates Best ROI

Marketing Charts, July 16, 2007 — Direct mail and email generated the best return on investment among media channels in 2006, according to respondents - both B2B and consumer marketers - to a new Harte-Hanks survey administered by CSO Insights. Among business-to-business marketers, digital marketing - email, websites and online registrations, and search - are seeing increased investments, but a “continuing struggle with data quality” is a “major roadblock to success,” the study found.

CMOs Rapped for Having Zero Impact on Sales

Study Shows Difficulty in Measuring Short-Term Value of C-Suite Position

CMO Strategy by AdAge, July 9, 2007 — Pay attention, CMOs: If you've been fighting for more influence with top management, hide this publication — now. A study to be published in the Journal of Marketing that covered 167 companies including Procter & Gamble, Microsoft and Apple over a five-year period concludes that CMOs on top management teams don't have any effect on a company's financial performance.

Leading National Advertisers Report: Spending Up 3.1% to $105 Billion†

Traditional Media Pinched as Largest Marketers Extend Reach Via Internet, Promotions

Advertising Age, June 25, 2007 — The top 100 U.S. advertisers last year increased ad spending by a modest 3.1% to a record $104.8 billion. But most of that growth came from "unmeasured" disciplines. In a troubling sign for traditional media, the marketing leaders increased measured media spending by just 0.6%, the smallest gain since the 2001 recession.

Marketers Get More Efficient With Ad Spending, Leading to Less of It†

ROI Allows Cuts to Media Spending Without Losing Effectiveness

Advertising Age, June 12, 2007 — If you're looking for expansion in U.S. measured media this year, dig out a magnifying glass. Ad spending will total just $152.3 billion in 2007, for an anemic 1.7% rate of growth and the smallest gain since the 2001 advertising recession, according to a forecast from TNS Media Intelligence.

Where's the Money Moving? Out of Media†

Ad Dollars Drop, but That Doesn't Mean Marketers Have Stopped Spending

Advertising Age, June 11, 2007 — U.S. ad spending — at least the measured kind — fell 0.3% in the January-to-March period, the first down quarter since the ad recovery began in 2002. But a drop in reported ad spending does not mean a drop in marketing spending. That's because what marketers need isn't just measured media; it's measurable results

Move From Metrics Overload to Actionable Insights†

Addicted: Too Many Marketers Overwhelm Themselves With Data -- and Then Do Nothing With It

Advertising Age, May 29, 2007 — Marketing accountability has a dirty little secret.

The secret is that marketing-accountability programs can be a complete waste of time — unless they are designed to inform business decisions.