A couple of recent posts on measurement caught my attention (DMI event) and (UK DesignCouncil study).
It seems that companies that put an emphasis on design are elevating above commodity status. That makes sense. I know a lot of talk has gone into iPods. But for years now there have been smaller, cheaper, and arguably better MP3 players on the market; but Apple is by far the 800lb gorilla in the marketplace.
Design is about more than the look & feel or colors of a product. It’s a purposeful thought process that goes into making every aspect of the user experience better. It’s VW understanding that silicon-dampened grab handles are nicer than the ones that just slap back against the headliner. It’s Rally’s understanding that two drive-throughs are better than one. It’s Nike. It’s the Aeron mesh chair. It’s Starbucks versus Seattle’s Best. It’s Target versus K-Mart.
Companies that integrate design thinking are more profitable because it usually costs the same to manufacture a designed widget versus a not. Customers want to love their purchases. Good design does that. It starts conversations. It creates profit – and that is infinitely measurable.
I learned that Six Flags spent $72,000,000 on Mr. Six, the dancing man. The ads score very well with the audience. Unfortunately, Six Flags reports that they saw NO increase in attendance or additional revenue. Doner Advertising created a huge stir with these ads (including a lot of rumors on who the actor was – a little birdie told me that it’s a young woman in makeup), but after zero ROI, Six Flags has decided to drop the campaign. This is another example of mass market advertising not showing a return. Even though ad recollection and satisfaction were high, they did not entice anyone to actually go to the themeparks.
I cannot imagine being the CMO or VP of Marketing at Six Flags with my Board of Directors and CFO staring at the $72M hole in the P&L. He/she has to be running scared. I wonder who was driving the media mix choices. Did Six Flags run the show or did they rely too heavily on Doner? I wonder what they nixed in order to launch the massive TV campaign. They spread the media across a lot of different mediums (tv, outdoor, online, print, etc…), but I wonder if Six Flags knows which mediums worked best for the brand. I wonder what they will do differently next time. They are a brand in trouble. They haven’t been profitable in eight years. The new CEO seems to have things on the right track, but sooner or later you have to get the word out that you’ve made improvement. You have to convince people to spend their hard earned cash with you. Rebuilding a struggling brand is tough. And I’m anxious to what they do differently this time.
Great post by Dale Wolf
Marketing managers have to embrace the data-driven side of life. Direct marketing is very effective and truly measurable. Given the state of 30 second TV spots, no wonder the finance folks have a hard time investing in marketing/branding.
The better you understand your customer, the better messages & offerings you can create for them. The more effective the message, the more likely your customers will act. Action is ROI and ROI gets budget dollars.
How do you gauge whether your in-house or external communications/design agency is working as well as they should be?
Here are a few questions to get you started:
- Is there alignment between your internal brand promise and your customer’s perception? If not, who is responsible? How will you fix it?
- How well do they listen before offering a solution?
- Can they speak your business language?
- When is the last time they impressed you with a new idea?
- Are they really part of your team or just a vendor?
- Is the in-house team better than the outside agencies? Why not? They should have the advantage (hint: and it’s not because they’re “free” or the quickest).
- How does the quality of your deliverables compare to your competition?
- Can they effectively give your pitch to someone without you?
- Do they work on your projects as business people or as artists?
- Is there a long term career path for your in-house creative team?
- Can they truly understand the root cause of your business problems?
- Are you getting the most out of your current retainer? How would you know if you’re not?
