Are Your Advertising Dollars Working?
Tips to Take to the Bank
By: Pam Crawford

A new book questioning the best use of advertising dollars is ruffling a few feathers in the marketing industry, but has made enough noise to become a wakeup call for corporate America. The book, “What Sticks,” by Rex Briggs and Greg Stuart, is an analysis of the effectiveness of advertising campaigns amongst American businesses. In it the authors claim their research shows that of the $295 billion spent annually for advertising in the U.S., 47 percent or $112 billion of it is wasted.

Yes. Wasted. Furthermore, the book asserts the companies contributing their fair share to the $112 billion wasted dollars are allocating a disproportionate amount of time to managing the relationship they share with their advertising agencies vs. the research, reporting and measurement of results of the marketing communications programs developed on their behalf.

So “What Sticks” has put a stick in the craw of many a business, both large and small, causing them to wonder if their advertising dollars are delivering the greatest bang for the buck. Increasingly, all eyes are quickly shifting to the bottom line.

Fair question? Yes. Fair to assume all advertising is an ineffective waste? No. Acknowledging and affirming a number of premises put forth in “What Sticks,” I’d like to add my own thoughts on the subject or what I refer to as “haste making waste.”

As a central component to any marketing program, advertising continues to deliver against marketing goals: gaining competitive edge, increasing traffic and appointment demand, creating awareness/brand advocacy and building image.

How you can more confidently assure its effectiveness is to commit to a strategic, dynamic, properly funded marketing communications plan - one that clearly and realistically defines outcomes and how they will be measured over a period of time. Such a plan does not typically appear overnight. It must address a number of vital and weighty dynamics including a healthy dose of competitive analysis, a well-researched target audience and market area definition, core product or service unique selling proposition(s) and the tactical support required to drive results through both traditional and non-traditional advertising mediums. At least once a year, this plan should tackle a comprehensive S.W.O.T. analysis - a realistic internal and external look at your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

So, you say, if I have a realistic plan in place, I’m guaranteed no advertising waste? Not necessarily. Because, remember: Advertising does not operate within a vacuum - it is tied to several other vital aspects of your marketing and operations programs including the sales team, how someone feels when they enter your place of business, what happens if the brand promise is not delivered and so on. It’s been said before, but bears repeating: Advertising does not make the sale - it generates the awareness and interest necessary amongst your target audience(s) for them to want to know more or take a next step. Does the size of your advertising budget play a role here? Of course. Yet it does not solely determine your ability to achieve maximum results for the dollars spent. You just have to be that much more diligent about knowing your customer and how to reach them in the most efficient way possible.

When properly planned and executed for the right reasons, research, whether pre-, post- or ongoing, is undoubtedly an excellent barometer of brand advocacy and measurable ROI. Let your marketing objectives guide decisions regarding how much and what kind of research should be funded in your marketing communications plan. It doesn’t always have to take the form of highly sophisticated initiatives that play out over an extensive period of time. There are many other “informal” ways to determine what track you should be on and how to stay there.

And what about all that time and energy companies are expending just to manage their advertising agencies? This could be one of the biggest waste factors of all, likely caused by one of two things, or a combination of both: either the company is not being realistic or totally forthcoming about what their marketing efforts have to deliver and/or the ad agency they have selected to help them get there is guilty of the same, as well as being inefficient stewards of their client’s business integrity and budget.

In the end, each of us, business leader or marketing communications partner, must accept a good portion of responsibility for the “waste” any advertising methodology, message or medium utilized to affect customer behavior creates. It has often been said, “Advertising doesn’t cost, it pays.” When waste, in all its forms presented in “What Sticks” is managed without haste, the more likely you are to see results that support, not sabotage the bottom line.

Pam Crawford is Vice President of Client Services at Corporate Communications Group. Contact her at 913.451.2990.