Of course the journey is very long – but the principle of
marketing accountability seems to be finally getting a grip on the overall
Marketing Supply Chain. And I am thrilled!
Several recent examples I would like to highlight:
* Ad-ID and E-biz for media are both starting to gain
traction. Ad-ID is the new digital coding system that acts as the industry’s
UPC code. By applying this to all advertising assets, companies can digitally
track, traffic and transfer assets and messages across the entire chain of
communications – from advertiser to media delivery. 250 companies are now using
Ad-ID. E-biz, or EDI as many of us remember, provides two way digital
information flow for television and radio – with applicability to other media
as well. Through digital communications, paper and people can be removed from
the advertising asset management process. This eliminates costly rework and
agency labor, greatly improves accuracy and champions marketing and media accountability.
Great progress has been seen – particularly in the local television and radio
industries.
* The XMOS studies represent an important step forward in
making media management decisions. XMOS literally helps companies identify
optimum asset allocations but can also do so within the context of changing
creative -- which is the wild card that has largely been viewed as less
controllable. This gives companies the latitude to explore different media
options to optimize revenue generation down at the brand level. Several
“big-name” brands are leveraging this tool to make important brand / media
management changes.
* Project Apollo represents a big step forward in
consumer research. Apollo is a “single-source” research model that provides
critical learning about actual purchases in response to exposure to radio and
television media. Measuring “cause and effect” represents a significant leap in
learning – providing marketers with increased knowledge about the implications
of changing marketing spending and media allocations.
* Procurement departments have certainly proved their
worth to improve agency accountability – even though they have elicited pain
for marketers and agencies. Having this “third-party” group involved has
elicited greater discipline among all parties improving the evaluation and
decision making processes.
And, of course, I could go on and on. These “cases” are
simply the tip of the iceberg for a “movement” that is well underway – but has
a long way to go. We will not let our foot off the accelerator as we convene
ANA’s Marketing Accountability Forum in July and ANA’s Annual Conference in
October.
