Marketing incrementality is sales revenue that is over and above that which might be expected with no marketing activity. Establishing incrementality is critical if you want genuine brand growth. Why? Because many performance platforms collect, report and even double-count sales from multiple sources, including those which might happen even if you didn’t run any activity. … Read More
Author: Simon Foster
Brand fame; what it is, what it delivers and how to build it.
Let’s take a closer look at why brand fame is such an important part of building brands In this POV originally written for mSix & Partners, I explore brand fame; what it is, what it delivers and how to build it. We are assisted by insight from some of advertising’s leading thinkers; Paul Feldwick, … Read More
Why digital media attribution could be compromising your media ROI
You’ve probably heard the expression ‘The devil is in the detail‘. It tells us that focusing on detail is the way to solve problems. In many ways, this expression is true, but in this post I’d like to argue that placing too much focus on the digital detail can mean marketers and their agencies miss … Read More
What are the 4Ps of the Marketing Mix
The 4Ps are one of the key concepts that underpin marketing strategy and tactics. The Ps stand for Product, Price, Place and Promotion. They were conceptualised by the distinguished US marketing and research academic, E Jerome McCarthy. Before we look at the 4Ps in detail let’s summarise the difference between strategy and tactics: Strategy: Sets … Read More
Why we must learn to build brands in digital media
In this article, written for the mSix’s website, I highlight how digital media has passed the tipping point and why marketers must evolve beyond the simplistic ‘long and short duopoly’ and use digital media to build brand fame as well as driving performance. The time is right to challenge and develop the original works of … Read More
Towards Attention Metrics by Media Channel
Research into attention to advertising is going to drive a rethink in how we view media channels Attention metrics concern the degree of attention consumers give to different advertising media channels. This is important if we accept that higher attention is likely to lead to higher cognition and memory retention. The value of attention isn’t … Read More
Exploring the Carbon Cost of Advertising
How much CO2 is generated by advertising media and the agencies providing the associated services? Forbes recently analysed the carbon footprint of agencies in the US and found that the key drivers are travel, commuting, office supplies, marketing collateral, utilities, shipping and computer services [1]. Within this, we can take a closer look at the … Read More
Maximising Media Effectiveness and Efficiency
This is a piece I wrote for an m/SIX newsletter in January 2022. Effectiveness and efficiency are not the same but they are both critical in media strategy, planning and activation Intro Marketing effectiveness and campaign efficiency are intertwined terms across the open plan workspaces of both advertisers and agencies. But they mean very different … Read More
Six pioneers of marketing effectiveness past and present
I recently wrote this piece for an m/SIX newsletter – it summarises the contribution of six people to the development of marketing effectiveness. SIX pioneers of marketing effectiveness past and present 1. Claude Hopkins, the copywriter who earned $2.7m per year selling Bissell vacuum cleaners We all talk about market effectiveness and marketing science, but … Read More
What is Marketing Mix Modelling?
Marketing Mix Modelling or MMM is a regression-based approach to identifying the drivers of sales for a business or brand – making it a form of attribution. For many advertisers it is used to understand and optimise the effects of paid media in generating sales outcomes. Unlike many other forms of attribution, MMM aims to … Read More
Does excess share of voice (eSOV) guarantee brand sales growth?
Excess share of voice (eSOV) is an important concept in marketing and media investment planning. The “excess” represents the degree to which your brand’s share of voice exceeds its share of market. Numerous studies have examined this relationship and consistently found that an excess share of voice over share of market is likely to result … Read More
Adstock and Diminishing Returns: non-linear advertising effects
Adstock is an important concept in marketing effectiveness. It was first quantified by Simon Broadbent in the 1970s. Its value lies in helping make marketing and media mix models more accurate by recognising that advertising and media investments have non-linear “carryover” response effects. These non-linear effects are normally grouped into two areas: the delayed effect … Read More
Coronavirus: why measurement is the key to ending the lockdown
Bill Gates once said “I have been struck again and again by how important measurement is to improving the human condition.” On April 7th, Mark Woolhouse Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh said ‘As things stand we could be out by a factor or 10 or even 100‘ [1]. Testing only … Read More
Unilever points the way by maintaining adspend in Coronavirus crisis
What is full funnel attribution in marketing?
Imagine this situation. You work in a large organisation as a digital marketing manager. You observe a sharp increase in GA direct, organic and brand generic web traffic. You want to explain the uptick but there’s nothing in your digital data that can explain it. However, you do know that your brand launched a TV/AV … Read More
What is the craft of media planning?
Over the last year people have been increasingly talking about the “craft” of media planning. Back in February 2019, Gideon Spanier the media editor of Campaign wrote, “the craft of media planing needs to make a comeback” and he further opined that “media planning has declined in importance in recent years – with serious consequences”. … Read More
Brands must grow before they can be harvested
Over the last decade, as an industry, we have become brilliant at harvesting the lower funnel. Every prospect who is showing “signals” of making a purchase can be digitally tracked and retargeted from the first flicker of interest to the point of purchase. This tracking has evolved to increase any one brand’s chances of closing … Read More
What is RFV analysis?
RFV stands for Recency, Frequency, Value. It’s a technique database analysts use to segment their customer data by plotting customers into a three dimensional space using three metrics: Recency – a measure of how recently a customer last purchased. Frequency – how often they purchase within a given time period. Value – the amount they … Read More
Best practice in marketing and media attribution to increase ROMI
Introduction This paper defines the marketing attribution problem and looks at the ways marketers can generate an accurate view of their return on marketing and media investment. There are lots of views, approaches and tools available to assist marketers with marketing and media attribution but unfortunately, most are limited in one way or another and … Read More
How to calculate cost per thousand (CPM) in paid media
Cost per thousand is a key metric in paid media planning. It’s important because it tells you the comparative cost of reaching the same volume of target audience in different media channels. Did you know that the cost of reaching 1,000 people in TV is about £5 and the cost of reaching 1,000 people by … Read More