Why brands and agencies need a dedicated approach to marketing effectiveness

Having a marketing effectiveness roadmap increases effectiveness culture and helps create a better, balanced approach to value creation within brands and agencies – and more need to create one.

That’s according to the IPA’s 2022 Marketing Effectiveness Roadmap report, which finds that 26% of brand respondents and 37% of agency respondents claim that their brand or agency does not have an effectiveness roadmap. 

Why it matters

The report defines marketing effectiveness as: “The process of improving business performance from marketing activities, made easier and more impactful by people, technology, and a strong and clear focus.”

But for business performance to improve, more agencies need to start or reignite their effectiveness journey with an effectiveness roadmap and start building effectiveness roadmaps in partnership with each other.

The report suggests the industry needs to rally around one definition and one framework for understanding how to improve marketing effectiveness.

Findings 

• The biggest single increase in marketing effectiveness culture is when the effectiveness journey is started: for brands it increases (+88%), for agencies 33% (from a higher base).
• Having an effectiveness roadmap increases perceived marketing effectiveness culture by 37% for brands and 38% for agencies.

• When a roadmap is present, brands are 41% more likely to believe that their organisation balances the long and short term and 71% more likely to believe long-term brand effects are crucial.

• 26% of brand respondents and 37% of agency respondents claim that their brand or agency does not have an effectiveness roadmap.

What can agencies do

• There is an opportunity for agencies to create effectiveness roadmaps for and with each of their key clients.
• Agencies can put greater effort into helping the whole organisation better understand how an effectiveness approach increases effectiveness culture.

• They can help clients understand that the agency is a creator of value rather than a cost to brands.
• They can avoid effectiveness becoming siloed within planning, analytics or other departments.
• Agencies (and brands) need to address the effectiveness challenge posed by the lack of (or perceived lack of) data sharing from and with their clients, and also from and with other agencies that work for the same client.

Sourced from IPA