If You Can't Measure It, You Can't Improve It

At the heart of any effective advertising campaign is market and consumer research. It used to be the domain of big brands with lots of money to spend on focus groups and testing. But today there are plenty of fast and cost-effective ways to gather consumer-centric data and determine market sentiment.

Explaining the relevance of data points instills confidence in stakeholders. They want to know that the investment spent on a campaign isn’t just someone’s gut feeling or opinion. They want to know current market conditions. They want to know a campaign is based on insights gleaned from a sample set of potential customers. This leads to the next logical question, “How are we going to measure the effectiveness of the campaign?”​

"Data leads to insights. Insights lead to effective creative and actionable plans."

Measuring key performance indicators shows everyone what success really looks like. Strategic benchmarks, testing and optimizing campaigns aren’t a luxury. They are the price of entry. “Set It and Forget It” might be a clever slogan for the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie, but it’s the last thing you want to do with an advertising campaign.

Advertising is a data-driven industry. Data leads to insights. Insights lead to effective creative and actionable plans. So before you begin your next campaign, do your homework: research current market conditions, understand how your competition is reacting to the marketplace, evaluate your current assets, and identify the challenges and opportunities before you. Research is more than numbers. Information is power.