28 November 2008
	VALUE FOR MONEY It ain't half effective By Matebello Motloung

Is advertising overpriced and overrated? US retail tycoon John Wanamaker once said: "I know that half of my advertising doesn't work. The problem is, I don't know which half." Now, as then, many businesses have no idea whether their advertising and marketing budget is being put to good use. No-one doubts advertising can raise product and corporate profile. But does it justify the expenditure? Gavin Rooke, CEO of digital direct marketing agency Trigger, says the difficulty in measuring the effectiveness of traditional advertising is behind doubts about its potency. Charl Thom, CEO of Cape Town-based advertising agency FoxP2, says it's not so simple. Advertising is only part of an integrated communication and engagement strategy. "A brand needs to be built on more than just traditional advertising. With the proliferation of media and the proliferation of digital, a wide variety of through-the-line communication avenues are open to a brand communication campaign." Nevertheless, he has no doubt good advertising pays dividends by leaving an "indelible mark" in consumers' minds. For those not convinced of advertising's cost-effectiveness, there is still the fear that not to advertise will be even more costly. Fresh in the minds of many is the Coca-Cola experience of the 1990s, when the soft drinks giant lost market share following its decision to cease all advertising - a move it went on to correct in subsequent years. " For me it's not whether advertising is working, but whether old-style advertising is working," says The Jupiter Drawing Room chief strategic officer Haydn Townsend. Internationally, he says the move is towards unconventional ideas that differentiate products. He points to a campaign by The Times of India, marking an anniversary of the country's independence. What started off as a page-long opinion piece calling on concerned citizens to pledge to make a change overnight, exploded into a nationwide call for mass action to change the country's negative image. The campaign even launched a TV "reality" show in which viewers voted for fellow citizens they believed had what it took to put the country right. "Advertising is necessary but not sufficient," he says. "Modern brands are talking about the remix idea. The result is an idea like that of The Times of India." Despite the dawn of new media, which should be a cheaper alternative to traditional advertising, nothing much has changed. Advertising is still an expensive exercise for most, and often a grudge expense. Townsend, however, say agencies are underpaid. Their fees are set according to employees' time, not their ideas. "So clients can keep ripping the benefits of that idea for a long time." The industry introduced the current pricing model following clients' concerns that the old commission structure, where agencies received royalties each time an advert played, was open to abuse. "Agencies are debating whether maybe we should change back to the old system," he says. For an increasing number of brands, especially those targeted at the younger market, traditional advertising is becoming irrelevant. Online and the creative use of digital options are where brands like Nike and 5fm see returns. Rooke says this is because of their measurability. "With direct online marketing, clients get to know exactly who the brand is reaching, the exact profiles of people interested in their brands and what they like." He says company marketers should be concerned about the effectiveness of their advertising. If they don't then, like Wanamaker, they will never know which half of their advertising works.