Communication performance evaluation -A client perspective

Christene McCauley Global Consumer Planning Director

APAN Annual Conference 12th November 2009

“ What is the key tool you use to measure communications

effectiveness?”

“Advertising pre-testing& brand tracking”

“Marketing Mix Analysis-a proprietary model combining

sales data, tracking data & custom research to cover a

broad range of activities ”

“Econometric modelling to determine which campaigns

have driven incremental sales”

“Pre-testing, brand tracking and general marketing

judgement”

“Brand tracking & measurement of specific growth drivers in the

markets”

WHERE CP SHOULD FOCUS TO GET GREAT ADVERTISING

DEFINE DEVELOP DELIVER EVALUATION

“ How great is the pressure from your management to demonstrate the

financial payback of communications?”

“Enormous but it is clearly accepted that even our best comms will not pay back over a year – our senior management know we are in the

business of building long term brands”

“Substantial. The annual budgeting process is heavily reliant on M&E analysis of specific

brand activities as a key input to deciding where to invest in the coming year. Those brands with proven ROI are given much greater priority than

those without.”

“Moderate pressure – there is general acceptance on the global team that the

currently available methods of measuring financial payback are expensive and of

questionable validity”“In most of our major markets senior

managers know how difficult it is to determine the financial payback on communications so the pressure is not as great Vs innovation.”

“Good intentions but not a lot actually happens. General

Managers seem to be happy with brand tracking results”

“ Have you proved the financial payback of your communication

investment and if so, how?

“Econometric modelling has given us a good steer as we will ever need in

the real world. It is not an exact science (no matter what they say).”

“RELATIVELY speaking, yes. Marketing mix gives us a solid view of how well individual

brand activities perform relative to another. The actual calculated ROI on each activity, however, is viewed as DIRECTIONAL, and not something

we would “take to the bank”

“Econometric analysis has generated some “rules of thumb” on long term

impact of marketing drivers on brand X in Ireland and GB”

“No. Been asked many times and stopped trying approximately 7-8

years ago!”

“Yes on specific activities where it is easy to isolate

the effects”

“NO!”

“ Do you have an example of where applying the learnings from measurement of activities has led to dramatic growth?”

“Measurement has helped justify the high production costs associated with recent films by demonstrating the enormous

return on investment between great and less impactful ones.”

“On the basis of Marketing Mix analysis the Exec agreed to spend an incremental $2million

on TV advertising for brand X last holiday season resulting in a net sales gain of +6.3% Vs

-3.5% the previous year”

“We have clear learnings from a pressure test in Quebec, on brand X which led to a roll-out of

a similar program throughout Canada and large volume and equity uplifts.”

“We have examples of using pre-test leanings to improve the effectiveness

of our ads.”

“We managed the media mix on brand X to deprioritise ineffective outdoor and

reallocate it to proven effective TV”

What hinders us?

What helps us?

Strong and Assertive –

an individual

Standing apart and being noticed - a

cut above the rest

Intelligent, cultured and in

controlRelaxed, harmonious

and at ease

Friendly, sociable, and

wanting to fit in

Lively, fun-loving and spontaneous

The 5I’s

Issue

Implementation

Information

Insight

Implication

Simple Tools

Goal

Goal

EFFECT (Change in attitude, belief or behaviour specified by Activity Goal)

EFFI

CIE

NC

Y (R

OI)

Activity Evaluation Map - Example

0 1 2 3 4 5

+200

0

-200

45%

30%

10%

15%

Activity A

Activity B

Activity C

Activity D

Activity E

Activity F

Activity G

Activity H

Activity I

Activity J

Activity K

Activity L

Activity M

Simplicity Vs Complexity

Pragmatic Vs Academic

Input Vs Output

Principles

“To ensure consumer insights inspire big

ideas that drive growth”

Consumer Planning at Diageo

WHERE CONSUMER PLANNING SHOULD FOCUS TO GET GREAT ADVERTISING

DEFINE DEVELOP DELIVER EVALUATION

ABCD Advertising Evaluation Model

AFFECT ON BEHAVIOUR

Will the ad affect attitudes/ behaviour as

detailed in the brief

BRANDED MEMORABILITYWill the ad cut through and

be branded

COMMUNICATIONAre the desired

messages (Rational or emotional) being

delivered?

DIAGNOSTICSWhy does the ad

perform as it does?How could it be

improvedCI

NEM

A

OUTD

OOR

RADI

O

PRIN

T

CINE

MA

OUTD

OOR

RADI

O

PRIN

T

“ What is your key ‘sound bite’ around the whole area of measuring communications

effectiveness?”

“Be realistic in your expectations, apply judgement and expertise to the

numbers, and never forget the consumer objective.”

“It takes a combination of data, great consumer and brand understanding and

lastly marketing judgement to understand the relative effectiveness of

communications”

“Before we can measure effectiveness, we have to be clear on what constitutes effectiveness. The theories of how

communications work are numerous and often contradictory. They are mostly poorly

understood by marketers - we could find ourselves in an unproductive process”

“Do the best you can – measure that the message got through the way it

was intended – but don’t cross the line and try to prove that it was worth any

specific amount of money.”

“Be pragmatic and practical.”

Thank You!