In this book review, the authors make an organized plea that advertising firms and their people become more financially focused.
There's nothing really new about marketing ROI in the book "Profitable Marketing Communications: A Guide to Marketing Return on Investment," other than the premise and the packaging.
The authors structure their views of "marketing accountability" using a stock market investment analogy with a heavy emphasis on making financial investments in what they call "marketing," which is often simply traditional advertising, and then estimating or attempting to generate measurable returns. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, a bit more financial focus by marketing people is probably a good thing.
While the financial investment comparison is useful as a theme, it stretches a bit too far by offering up the investment strategies of the legendary financial wizard Warren Buffett as a comparable way to make marketing investments. Yet, the book is a worthwhile read for marketing and communication managers as it will remind them of the challenges they face with senior management to have their activities and efforts taken seriously. It might also be useful for the corporate financial people, senior management and board level people simply to help them understand the complexities and differential challenges of measuring "marketing" returns.
The authors don't help their argument with their terminology. Marketing, as they commonly use the term, generally takes the form of traditional mass media advertising. While they do try to bring in some of the other promotional elements such as public relations, sales promotion, events and the like -- even making a few passing references to the internet, social networks and other digital techniques -- this is still basically a discussion of traditional media advertising measurement. But then, one could hardly expect anything different from the author who has made his career as a media agency maven, or better said, an agency media maven.
Most of what is contained in the 200 or so pages has already been published or at least reported in other venues, with a heavy emphasis on quotes from industry gurus. The authors, reinforcing their British origin, frequently source examples and illustrations from the Advertising Effectiveness series published by the London-based Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. Unfortunately, the examples lose their punch on this side of the pond if one is not familiar with O2, British Airways, AA, BUPA and the like. True, they do cite a number of measurement "success stories" by major global advertisers such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, HP and Toyota, but the emphasis is heavily European.
While the tales of advertising successes are interesting and demonstrate that there are some firms capable of measuring or at least attempting to measure the value of their advertising and promotional marketing investments, the cases seem to be superficial, at least in the telling, with few specific references as to how those successes were achieved other than through a brilliant advertising "Big Idea."
Yet, the book has a number of strengths. First, the authors, Antony Young and Lucy Aitken, clearly have studied the topic and they know the literature, perhaps too much so. They have given the subject considerable thought, and they approach measurement and accountability in an almost dispassionate way, constructing lists and recommendations in sometimes over-zealous detail. That likely comes from not having an actual consulting tool or methodology to sell as is commonly found in this type of text.
The framework they develop, initially based on the acronym ICE (Identify points of leverage, Clarify the objectives of the investment and Establish risk), quickly disappears as the balance of the book morphs into a list of "Eight Investor Tips to Profitable Marketing Communications."
The eight tips are:
- Concentrate on outcomes, not outputs
- Forget consumers, target customers
- Manage your communication investment portfolio
- Differentiate in any way you can
- Engagement and experience as the new 30-second ads
- Apply a "focus investing" approach
- Establish a measurement culture
- Leverage your employee capital
Each of the topics generates a chapter, some stronger and more relevant than others.
The last chapter of the book is probably the strongest in the text, although a bit disjointed. The authors ask questions and raise issues about such topics as breaking down internal silos, creating an organizational ROI culture and managing advertising agencies more effectively. It certainly would have been a more effective opening for the concepts that come later than the somewhat trite and overdone opening, which focuses on "the changing marketplace" -- something almost every junior account executive can recite by heart.
While there is much to support the views and recommendations of the authors, there are several jarring issues and inclusions. Clearly, this text is a thinly disguised promotional tool for the Publicis agency group from the opening forward by Maurice Levy, chairman and CEO, to the numerous references to Publicis or Publicis-owned agency plans, programs and success stories. One likely can't fault Young and Aitken for this since Publicis doubtless provided the ongoing support to enable them to pen this tome. One does wish, however, that the listing of the full name, title and complete agency references of people in the case examples were not so blatant and continual. In addition, one must also accept that at least one of the authors is an agency executive. Thus, the agency and the agency's view of advertising is almost always a key element in the client success stories. Little credit is given to other factors, which would have seemed to have been key ingredients in most of the examples.
In spite of these fairly visible shortcomings, the book has much to offer. It is a clearly organized plea that marketing, or better said advertising firms and their people, become more financially focused. If the people for whom this text is intended were only able to develop and include the recommendations of the authors in their programs going forward, much of the clamor for accountability would subside. There might even be a stool, if not a chair, for marketing folk to join in the discussions at the big table.
Don E. Schultz is presently professor emeritus-in-service of integrated marketing communications at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University. Read full bio.