The Marketing Accountability Imperative : Driving Superior Returns on Marketing Investments

Today s thorny marketing environment is characterized by media choice proliferation, audience fragmentation, marketing stagflation, and a daunting measurability divide. All of which has only exacerbated the age old question—which, if any, of our marketing investments are contributing to long term profitable growth? The Marketing Accountability Imperative offers a hands on guide for CEOs, CFOs, and marketing executives who must grapple with these complexities. Written by Michael Dunn and Chris Halsall, this groundbreaking book establishes the imperative for effective stewardship of marketing spending and the significant prize that awaits marketers and firms who pursue greater accountability. The book identifies critical factors that define a program of effective marketing accountability and shows how to sort through the clutter of metrics, measurement, and analytic options. As the authors explain, recent technology and analytic advances have made it more practical to use a combination of historical modeling and go forward experimentation to build an effective set of measurements that capture both the short term sales response and the medium term brand equity impact of any given investment. But whereas most discussions have stopped at the issue of measurement, the authors push on to focus on the ultimate prize—how to apply the insights from more holistic measurement systems to drive better continuous decision making and improved in market performance across the marketing value chain. They highlight how decisions made at each critical value lever—from strategy and content to marketing vehicles and investment levels—either enable or impede efficient and effective marketing deployment. They describe the virtuous cycle that results from the situation where insightful analytics drives great strategy that informs inspired creative development and efficient in market execution. Step by step, the authors offer practical guidance on how to move your organization through the three horizons of marketing accountability improvement. In addition, the book includes a wealth of charts, frameworks, and data that will help you diagnose and plan a long term marketing accountability program. Written for marketers and nonmarketers alike, The Marketing Accountability Imperative is filled with the tools needed to build a sustainable marketing accountability program—right now!