“A” is for Accountability

When it comes to marketing accountability, “we know there is no silver bullet and chances are that no great epiphany will solve everyone’s [marketing] accountability challenge,” says Association of National Advertisers President and CEO Robert Liodice, in a recent ANA blog posting, the third in a four-part series.

Little by little, says Liodice, businesses are reinventing the way they look at marketing accountability by using analytics as an asset and creating a culture of accountability.

According to Liodice, companies that value analytics are making strides with accountability. “They approach marketing metrics and accountability in a cross-functional way, involving many stakeholders, particularly those that focus on branding, marketing impact on sales and customer value,” he says.

But doing analytics is just one tactical aspect; creating a culture of accountability is another. Liodice says naming an internal accountability leader to marshal multiple business proficiencies toward the common goal of better marketing performance is key.  Examples of these proficiencies include decision-making, incentives, organizational structure, knowledge-sharing and open communication.

P&G, says Liodice, is one of those companies delivering marketing accountability through a combination of the right tools, the right processes and the right culture, with a “commitment to marketing accountability that permeates through the entire organization.”

Externally, Liodice says the responsibility for marketing accountability is far broader, falling on industry players and partners throughout the marketing business system, including traditional media partners, agencies, and vendors such as Nielsen and the Audit Bureau of Circulation.

“For untold years, [marketers] have been using surrogate and soft measurements like awareness, instead of relevant measurements, like incremental sales impact and changes to brand equity,” says Liodice.

As his blog points out, that is going to change. And if there’s one area ripe for reinvention, marketing accountability is it. Stay tuned.