Marketing data & analytics

How to create a curve not a blip

- John Maynard Keynes

“In the long run we are all dead”

With companies going out of business at an ever-increasing rate (and clients shifting roles so often), it’s no surprise that marketers are looking for short-term gains - whether that’s sales, follows or likes.

%

We got 10,000 YouTube views!

When metrics like brand trust and momentum are slow to move, case studies inevitably reference more transient proofs

We gained 1,000 Twitter followers!

We captured 200 email addresses!

Is focusing on short-term digital

metrics such a bad thing?

After all, isn’t the long-term just a series of short-terms?

Haven’t new digital channels made it and easier to reach

people and measure success?

Is focusing on short-term digital

metrics such a bad thing?

Yes.

And no.

...if they line up with meaningful long-

term objectives

When experimenting with marketing, short-terms goals are incredibly effective...

The way we see it

As our friend Martin Weigel puts it...

“It is the curve that ultimately matters,

not the blip”

We want to help you- Understand how short and long-term goals align

- Experiment with confidence- Create actionable insights, not just more data

- Tie up ‘loose ends’ across all your channels and platforms

Our aim is not to - Sell you another dashboard

- Focus solely on comms- Justify last year’s spend with

backward-looking ROI calculations

Our aims

Too true.

We’ve created a process that helps you design and measure marketing

activity that can achieve both...

Not one at the expense of the other.

Long-term brand building Quick wins

Our approach

How to configure your marketing2

1 How to identify, shift & measure the right ‘needles’

1 How to identify, shift & measure the right ‘needles’

The overall mentality

1. What are our objectives?

2. How should we measure success? (The needles)

3. What activities, assets and channels affect these measures?

(The drivers)

When designing marketing experiments, start with 3 key questions

1. What are our objectives?

Commercial objective

Barrier

Marketing objective

Acquire new customers Monetise current customers

Penetrate a new market Grow market share

Increase purchase frequency / justify a

price premiumDrive short term

volume sales

Lack of familiarity“I’ve never heard of it’

Lack of momentum“It’s not a brand

people talk about”

Lack of brand or category trust/

perceived quality“It’s not worth the

money”

Lack of motivation“I’m not looking to

buy right now”

Awareness Fame Image Direct Response

Too many marketers navigate by their current ‘loyal’ consumers

Focusing only on your current consumer base is unlikely to drive true growth potential.

Brands grow by increasing penetration - reaching as many category buyers as possible.

Penetration-led strategies are highly likely to result in growth.

Of all objectives, Fame is paradoxically the least common, yet the most effective at driving penetration

Source: Binet and Field, IPA Effectiveness Databank analysis

Why are other objectives often less effective than Fame?

AwarenessCreates

inevitable wastage

There will always be a huge chasm between mass awareness and mass consideration -

especially for high value / high complexity purchases - unless your product has a market-

transforming USP

It’s much harder to change an ingrained

behaviour or a negative opinion

than it is to form an initial one

ImageRequires overcoming

existing attitudes and behaviours

Relies on existing desire for a brand/

category and perception of a

‘getting a bargain’

Direct Response

Requires existing brand equity or category-

defying value

Regardless of marketing objective, purpose-driven activity is most effective at driving growth

Source: Millward Brown

Exercise 1:Objective setting

- What key barriers to growth most urgently need addressing?

- What’s your corresponding marketing objective?

2. How should we measure success? (The needles)

We can divide success metrics into slow and fast moving.

THE NEEDLES

Slow moving metrics (like trust and love)

take months and years to shift.

Fast moving metrics (like shares and likes) take days and weeks to

demonstrate the impact of your activity.

Example measures

- Fast moving (changes in days

and weeks)- Slow moving

(changes in months and years)

Fast: OTS, impressions

Slow: Unprompted awareness

Fast: Buzz, shares, likesSlow: NPS,

Brand tracking

Fast: Digital sentimentSlow: Brand tracking

Fast: Sites visits, footfall

Slow: Volume sales

Commercial objective

Barrier

Marketing objective

Acquire new customers Monetise current customers

Penetrate a new market Grow market share

Increase purchase frequency / justify a

price premiumDrive short term

volume sales

Lack of familiarity“I’ve never heard of it’

Lack of momentum“It’s not a brand

people talk about”

Lack of brand or category trust/

perceived quality“It’s not worth the

money”

Lack of motivation“I’m not looking to

buy right now”

Awareness Fame Image Direct Response

Exercise 2: Identify available data

- Fast & slow: identify all the sources of data (fast & slow) you have currently vs. could/should have- Own data: identify all the ‘baseline’ scores you can - to see how activity has performed in the past- Competitor data: identify all the ‘benchmark’ scores you can - to see where you under/over-perform vs. the competition

3. What activities, assets and channels affect these measures?

(The drivers)

Assets Activities Channels

THE DRIVERS

e.g.

Sponsorship assets

Personalities

Packaging, product and service design

e.g.

Events

Advertising

New product launches

Partnerships

e.g.

Social media

Retail distribution

Exercise 3: Map objectives and metrics to

growth drivers- Impact: Are existing drivers capable of shifting both fast and slow moving metrics?- Measurement: Are you set up to measure both fast and slow moving metrics?

There’s no point in designing experiments you can’t measure!

Key measures

- Fast moving (changes in days

and weeks)

Fast: OTS, impressions

Fast: Buzz, shares, likes

Fast: Digital sentiment

Fast: Sites visits, footfall

Drivers of fast moving measures‘What can I do this week to make an impact?’

Key assets

Key activities

Key channels

Marketing objective Awareness Fame Image Promotion

Key measures- Slow moving

(changes in months and years)

Slow: Unprompted awareness

Slow: NPS, Brand tracking

Slow: Brand tracking Slow: Volume sales

Drivers of slow moving measures ‘What should I do long-term to ensure success?’:

Key assets

Key activities

Key channels

Marketing objective Awareness Fame Image Promotion

SUMMARY: THE CHECKLIST

1. Objectives: What are our commercial and marketing objectives?2. Needles: What needles (fast and slow) should we aim to shift as a result?3. Drivers: What drivers typically move those needles?4. Measurement: Are we set up to measure shifts in these needles?5. Goals: Do we have a baseline (own data) or benchmark (competitor data) - and a goal?

‘Word of mouth’ is still more offline than online

A final word on metrics: not everything is digital!

As Keller Fay point out:“The visibility of brand buzz in

social media has caused too much attention to be paid to online word-of-mouth when real-life chatter accounts for 90% of all conversations around brands.”

How to configure your marketing2

Marketing activity can be effective in and of itself

e.g.. you can create an effective TV ad

BUT

Marketing is much more effective if it is well-configured

i.e. ensuring no ‘loose ends’ - and instead creating a coherent and

‘sticky’ experience of a brand across multiple touchpoints.

Advocate

Bond

ParticipateJoin

Experience-led

marketing

Product-led

marketing

Consider

Evaluate

Buy

Marketing activity can be configured effectively using a consumer experience (CX) planning framework

STOP START

Paying to out-shout the competition

1. Becoming a media owner

Prioritising product-led advertising

2. Growing a network of passionate supporters

Buying in consumer insight from 3rd parties

(research and media)

3. Integrating owned and earned data

sources

Benefits of creating a coherent, well-configured CX

1. Becoming a media owner• Develop long-term owned platforms that are social by design• Drive repeat interactions, multiple transactions• Make switching a nightmare• Cut spend on paid media • Communicate directly through own channels

2. Growing a network of passionate supporters• Prioritise experience and relationship over transaction• Develop comms that drive to owned platforms• Drive product sales from within the network

3. Integrating owned and earned data sources• Develop a 360 view of customers and fans• Create actionable insights • Optimise and innovate the customer experience• Drive retention

Benefits of creating a coherent, well-configured CX

Individual brands should create their own bespoke

CX model - driven by their brand purpose

Example: HondaUse your brand purpose as a lens for creating bespoke CX objectives

Brand purpose

lens

Generic CX principle

Brand-specific objective

Advocate

Bond

Participate

Join

To benefit society through the pursuit of impossible

dreamsCelebrate

Hero the people who’ve made the impossible possible

LearnShare your insights and

journey of discovery

BuildUse Honda’s resources

to build your dream

DeclareDeclare your intention to

pursue an impossible dream

Example: Honda CX Objectives

BUILDUse Honda’s resources

to build your dream

COMMSInspire people to believe in

their own impossible dreams

SIGN-INSign into

Honda’s network

LEARNShare your insights and

journey of discovery

CELEBRATEHero the people who’ve made the

impossible possible

DECLAREDeclare your

intention to pursue an impossible dream

Work through the checklist...

1. Objectives: What are our commercial and marketing objectives?2. Needles: What needles (fast and slow) should we aim to shift as a result?3. Drivers: What drivers typically move those needles?4. Measurement: Are we set up to measure shifts in these needles?5. Goals: Do we have a baseline (own data) or benchmark (competitor data) - and a goal?

...and create your own bespoke CX framework

If you need help to:

Drop us a line!

For more information please contact:Matt BoffeyFounder & Managing Director@LSUsocialmatt@londonstrategyunit.comwww.londonstrategyunit.com