Tag Archives: Analytics

Should 90% of CMOs be Fired?

OK, as a CMO you’re going to be fired in ~23 months anyway.

But a recent study, carried out by Marketing Management Analytics, Financial Executive and Ed See, makes me think that more senior marketing executives should double-check the shine on their resume and perhaps consider a few more networking lunches in the near future.

A very brief summary of that report found in Ad Age frightens me and brings to mind a few courses of action that you can take today, if you find yourself in a similar situation.

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Posts and comments from around the web

I was doing some SEO work this morning (and SEO will be the subject of a longer article in the near future) and happened to find a few articles where I was interviewed on topics ranging from membership to deploying analytic platforms using SAS software to education and internships.

Here’s a quick look at a few articles that might be of interest.

How important is membership to a non-profit organization? The Chronicle of Philanthropy did an article in 2005 about non-profit membership numbers and how the organizations count their supporters. It’s an interesting look on the philosophies that non-profits use. My takeaway and experience is that you should ask questions about an organizations membership and support numbers, especially if those are important to you.

I was really proud of the work I did with our CIO at WWF to upgrade our analytics capabilities using SAS. This article from the SAS user magazine has a few terrific examples of what Greg Smith and I were able to accomplish by moving aggressively to upgrade the organization’s analytic capabilities and improving our access to marketing data.

While I approach marketing from an analytic, direct response point of view, I also track brand marketing efforts to see if the principles of DR can be applied. KFC ran a promotion in late 2007 to encourage lunchtime visits to their stores by office workers. I gave it high marks for creativity, but was worried about the execution.

Finally, with college graduation approaching, I found this article at Utica College’s website where I was interviewed and offered thoughts on the importance of internships for college students.

Co-op coupon cornucopia

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For the first time in a long time I took a few minutes to run through the Valpak co-op mailing I received last week.

After a few minutes of looking at the offers, I came up with a short list of things to consider if you’re using Valpak (or other co-ops) as a marketing channel. The short list is powered by my own past experience and might stimulate you to think of some other ideas.

Before I get started, here’s a rundown of what I found inside. There was a total of 43 inserts inside the envelope (which featured, bizarrely, a promotion for the television program CSI: NY on the OE and which distracted me from the 1:50,000 possibility that there might be a check for $100 inside). I sorted the inserts into three categories:

National advertisers (19, 44% of the total). These included Netflix, DirecTV, Verizon, Omaha Steaks and others. Of those, 4 (27%) of the inserts did not use the standard 8 1/4″ x 3 1/2″ format and instead paid additional for a heavier and/or different stock insert.
Regional/franchise (8, 19% of the total). Included here were ads for the local Gold’s Gym, Kaiser Permanente and Molly Maids. Of these, only 1 (12%) of the inserts deviated from the standard insert.
Local advertisers (15, 35% of the total). These ranged from local dentists to home improvement providers to Anthony’s, a restaurant down the street–which included some coupons that might finally get me to take the family there!. Only 1 insert (7%) strayed from the Valpak standard format.

Valpak ran one house insert, promoting an offer of $350 to target 10,000 homes for new advertisers, a CPM of $35.

We can immediately see some ideas, just from this basic sort.

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Is your website optimal? Can you tell?

A client recently asked me “who can tell me if my website is working well for me?” My immediate response was “your customers and your browsers.” This, of course, triggered a conversation of how it was possible to talk to tens of thousands of (usually) anonymous visitors, collect their insights and then translate that to marketing improvements.

Prior to a large amount of advertising moving to the web, with the associated tracking and analytical capabilities, my response didn’t make a lot of sense. Unless you were the sole proprietor of a local general store or had massive resources to undertake a large amount of expensive primary research, it was really hard to figure out what exactly about your marketing was working for your customers and prospects.

Until the rise of web analytics, that is. Continue reading →

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