ARCHIVED TIPS
"The Measure of Success" by Ron Eisenberg, President
"Creatives that Think Marketing Versus Them that Don’t" by Randy Hall, Creative Director
"No wind serves him who addresses his voyage
to no certain port."
- Michel de Montaigne
"The Measure of Success"
When measuring the success of a recently executed marketing activity, a company's Marketing Director will ask associates "How did the program do?" Typically, the question is answered by statements such as "We generated X number of inquiries" or "The program was responsible for X dollars of new revenue," which do not accurately measure a program's success by themselves. More times than not, the company does not have a pre-determined goal or objective available to compare against the response, limiting its value to the company.
The only true measure of a program's success is to compare its results to the goals and objectives of the program that were clearly defined and agreed upon during its planning stages. However, most companies are so focused on a program's budget, timeline, or creative, that the critical tool for measuring success is ignored or forgotten.
When Team Eisenberg is requested to develop and execute marketing activities for its clients, such as direct mail, e-marketing, channel promotions, trade shows, or any other measurable marketing activity, make sure you are ready to answer the question, "What are the specific goals and objectives of the program?"
By Ron Eisenberg
President
Eisenberg, Inc.
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"The people who say: "You are what you eat" have always seemed addled to me.
In my opinion, you are what you think, and if you don’t think,
you can eat all the meat in Kansas City and still be nothing but a vegetable."
- Russell Baker - The Rescue of Miss Yaskell
"Creatives that Think Marketing Versus Them that Don’t"
It isn’t really a black and white thing — "either your creative team thinks about marketing objectives or they don’t." Rather, it’s a question of how much your creative team considers marketing input when they start brainstorming creations for your next marketing communications project.
I’ve seen many an art/creative director, graphic/web designer, produce screaming-hot award-winning-quality stuff that has left me wondering if the work actually increased sales for the client, or if the audience that actually "get" this creative work is the same target audience the client (not the art director) intended to "get" it.
If you are shopping for creative talent and you have marketing objectives to meet, here is my tip for you: Hire the creative team that has the most marketing savvy. Why? Because you can always tell marketing-smart creative talent you want something wildly-creative and they will be able to deliver high-quality creative work that says the right message to the right audience at the right time (you get: effective design for your marketing dollars). But you cannot tell a creative team that is high on the creative meter but low on the marketing objective meter to go get some marketing smarts before they start your project — and expect to get effective design.
How do you find a creative team with the most marketing savvy? Their answers to some strategic questions will reveal what a flashy portfolio won’t: What do you know about my company’s competition? My company can’t afford to produce a "high-end" project just to impress people, we need ideas to increase revenue what can you show me? What experience do you have creating projects for my target audience? How do you measure the success of the solutions you develop?
Happy hunting in the creative jungle — and remember to "find them that think marketing" — the returns will be more plentiful.
By Randy Hall
Creative Director
Eisenberg, Inc.
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