MI’s MD, Richard Slater recently took part in a DMA round table discussion on the opportunities and limitations in the current field of marketing measurement.

The JICMAIL team wanted to understand better the opportunities and limitations with the current field of marketing measurement. Along with the DMA Awards team, it convened a leading panel of industry experts to delve deeper into this critical issue, launching a white paper which examines several key themes and ultimately provides 10 Top Tips for Minding the Measurement Gap.

They agreed that despite an industry hooked on measuring short-term outcomes and easily accessible digital campaign reporting, marketers and measurement practitioners have a responsibility to refocus the measurement conversation on brand, response, and business effects.

Ian Gibbs, Director of Data Leadership & Learning at JICMAIL, said: “The challenges outlined in our Mind the Measurement Gap report are numerous, yet at the same time it has been encouraging to see our expert panel offer so many valuable and practical tips for plugging the gaps in full effect measurement. From rigorous client on-boarding processes, to the development of bespoke client-specific measurement frameworks, along with advice on not letting the quest for perfect measurement get in the way of creating something immediately practical and meaningful, this paper is packed with essential tips for marketers and measurement practitioners.”

The focus group recommended that the silos across disciplines, channels, teams, and client-agency relationships must be broken down to plug the gaps in full-effect measurement. Too many marketing teams are still siloed by channel, and with each channel targeted according to different brand and response goals, these silos create self-interest detrimental to business performance.

Sophia Walmsley, Marketing Effectiveness Lead at Santander, advises on the importance of breaking down the measurement siloes and providing a channel-neutral approach to measurement: “Within our organisation, marketing and 1-to-1 are viewed separately, but, in reality, our existing customers are going to see our mass marketing too. We know from research that exposure across multiple channels increases the likelihood of the purchase of an additional product, yet our attribution approaches are separate. Having said that our MMM is an extremely effective tool in combating this across marketing channels, it provides a channel-agnostic view that enables us to plan a campaign as a whole. The next step is channel agnostic measurement.”

Industry’s over-reliance on vanity metrics

DMA research has found that 41% of all metrics used to measure campaign effectiveness relate to less meaningful campaign delivery and digital vanity metrics, while 59% relate to meaningful business, brand, and response outcomes.

This over-reliance on campaign delivery and digital vanity metrics has not improved over the course of the last five years, and with average campaign effectiveness declining by 29% between 2020 and 2021, there is evidence that below-par campaign measurement is having a negative impact on overall marketing performance.

Commenting on the tendency of marketing measurement to be focused on less meaningful campaign delivery and digital vanity metrics, Matt Dailey, Chief Performance Officer at Havas says: “There is so much data that is easily available… and people have become obsessed with efficiency and short-termism, whilst measuring effectiveness is hard. The easiest way out is to show that something happened and not whether that something is really of any value.”

The multi-channel reality in which consumers, planners and practitioners now live creates a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it enables advertisers to take advantage of significant effectiveness multiplier effects, yet on the other, it creates a world of increased complexity with each channel battling to prove attributable and incremental effects.

Other key highlights from the Mind the Measurement Gap report include:

• Mail campaigns that include an element of Ad Mail (including Direct Mail and Door Drops) generate 50% more business, brand and response effects than the average campaign; and in addition are the least reliant on less meaningful campaign delivery effects in their measurement plans.
• 10% of the metrics in the DMA’s Intelligent Marketing Databank were digital-specific metrics in 2017. This has nearly doubled five years later. With reporting of digital effects on the rise, it is more important than ever for offline channels to have their digital impact properly attributed.

A version of this article, along with the video below initially appeared on JICMAIL’s website.

All the findings from the event have been captured in the JICMAIL white paper ‘Mind the Measurement Gap‘ which can be downloaded below:

We are extremely proud that our entry for Médecins Sans Frontières UK has won a bronze award at last night’s IPA Effectiveness Awards.

The IPA Effectiveness Awards are advertising and marketing’s most rigorous and coveted and this is our second IPA award (previously for 32Red)! Our award, ‘How smart media investment delivered transformative change for MSF‘ focuses on how we (and a team of clever clients and media partners) have delivered impressive growth for the charity over the last 10 years using smart media tactics. Of the 28 entries who made the shortlist, we were one of only four Not-for Profit entries and appeared in a sea of both creative and international agencies.

Great to see our success celebrated in this morning’s Financial Times:

MSF is a charity who are heavily reliant on fundraising income to support its life saving work. Our entry describes how MSF more than doubled its annual income over a 10-year period in which charitable giving sharply declined. MSF’s case demonstrates that by taking a long-term approach to short term activation, a virtuous circle has been created between increased fundraising income and growth in media spend, which in turn drives income further. These have been powered by audience insight, evidence-based decision-making and close collaboration between client and agency specialists.

Our entry: 

MSF is a charity who are heavily reliant on fundraising income to support its life saving work. This case describes how MSF more than doubled its annual income over a 10-year period in which charitable giving sharply declined.

MSF’s case demonstrates that by taking a long-term approach to short term activation, a virtuous circle has been created between increased fundraising income and growth in media spend, which in turn drives income further.

These have been powered by audience insight, evidence-based decision-making and close collaboration between client and agency specialists.

The Earth’s climate is in crisis.

Global temperatures are rising, unequivocally driven by human activity, and as a result, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and closer to home. Fortunately, not all hope is lost. If humans can cut global emissions of greenhouse gases and reach net zero before it’s too late, the world could halt the continued rise in temperature. And now, with the UK due to host the UN climate change conference (COP26), the carbon crisis has finally risen towards the top of the UK’s political and business agendas.

The government has pledged to cut emissions by 78% (vs 1990 levels) by 2035, with a goal of Net Zero by 2050. Net Zero Emissions means achieving a balance between the carbon emitted into the atmosphere and the carbon removed and is a crucial target if we are to stabilize global temperatures.

The UK advertising industry has also now begun to respond to the climate emergency and the need to achieve net zero emissions by setting up Ad Net Zero (A.N.Z.). Set up at the end of 2020 and led by the Advertising Association, A.N.Z. is a not-for-profit initiative with the aim of developing a roadmap for the advertising industry to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Ad Net Zero has identified five areas of focus to help the advertising industry recognise and reduce our own carbon contributions and begin to help influence our clients and their consumers to do the same.

1. All companies to evaluate and establish their own emissions – including the impact of travel, fossil fuel energy use and waste in the workplace with a view to finding ways to offset and reduce these emissions.

2. Measuring and reducing the impact of carbon within advertising production – with ad agencies aided by the recently launched AdGreen Carbon Calculator.

3. Of specific relevance to us as media planners is beginning to understand the environmental implications of different media types so emissions become more of a consideration when designing a client’s media plans and so that the carbon produced by the channels selected can be offset. A media carbon calculator, hosted by the IPA, remains a work in progress. It differentiates between screens and devices (e.g. TV vs mobile etc.) but not yet between media owners (e.g. ITV vs Sky). And it focuses on end delivery (e.g. the energy required to power a screen for 30”, but for the time being, excludes the impact of content delivery, data centres and web infrastructure. So, it’s not perfect yet but statistician George Box’s observation:“all models are wrong but some are useful” applies here if it begins to give clients greater transparency on the carbon impact of their advertising.

4. Organisers building in sustainability considerations into awards and events planned to minimise their carbon footprint (including travel etc.).

5. And last but by no means least, encouraging all of us in the industry to harness the power of advertising to promote sustainable choices amongst consumers and ideally influencing behaviour that will continue beyond an advertising campaign.

MI Media is proud to have signed up to Ad Net Zero, alongside partner agencies within the Harbour Collective, so we too can play a small part in trying to tackle the world’s climate emergency. By evaluating the emissions produced as a result of our operations and putting greater emphasis on the carbon impact of the advertising activities we plan, we are better able to offset and ultimately reduce our carbon footprint and are committed to the aim of becoming a net zero company by 2030.

Richard Slater, Managing Director at MI Media

“We’re really happy to have started with PGMBM, they are at the forefront of addressing the ‘Dieselgate’ scandal and are committed to holding corporations accountable for the damage they have caused and representing the drivers affected. We’ve been impressed with their dynamic and data driven approach which will put them well ahead of their competition.”

We are determined to build strong foundations with our client and strive to support PGMBM’s dedication to enabling global justice through group litigation. You can read more about our work with PGMBM on our case study.

‘Care packages’ of coffee (when Sainsburys ran out!) or wine/chocolate and kids magazines (for mums and dads faced with home schooling ad nauseum) have been gratefully received by the team.

At a time when joining a new company could be totally pants, all MI newbies have received an ethical welcome hamper (full of foodie treats and drinks) and have been assigned a friendly buddy to help them remotely integrate into the wider team. Our legendary Christmas party (sadly not abroad this year but on Zoom) was a virtual triumph with an eclectically creative range of events including drink and draw, laughing yoga and carol singing combined with takeaway treats and boozy doorstep deliveries.

It’s great to be recognised for such an award and congratulations to all the other companies who have also been doing the right thing over the past year.

We are excited to announce that we are now working with estate agency, Yopa.

Yopa is a full-service estate agency providing all the services of a traditional agency for a fair fixed fee. It is is already a top 10 UK estate agency brand with more than 130 members of staff and 150+ local estate agents. Yopa has also appointed a new creative partner, Happy Hour.

Pip Heywood, Chief Marketing Officer at Yopa comments,

“From the start of the pitch process, I was really impressed with both companies. The teams, their data-led approaches and clear understanding of what customers want and need set them apart. They have already developed industry-leading solutions to our brief and, as a company that grew over 75% in revenue terms last year, I’m confident their combined support will catapult us even further ahead.

 

MI’s founder, Clive Howse comments,

“Yopa is a very switched on company looking to use data to maximise the return from every marketing pound they spend. They are a perfect client for M.i. Media and we are really looking forward to working with the team to accelerate their growth in the market.”

The MI team is working with Yopa to form a comprehensive media strategy centred on data to deliver immediate growth, but also lay the foundations for gathering actionable insights by media, creative, regionality and audience. 2021 looks set to be another big year of growth for Yopa.