Posted by Lisa Hochgraf
I've been thinking a lot about marketing ROI lately for two reasons: Credit Union Management magazine's upcoming October issue will feature a story on it in a section I edit, and marketers will soon be computing the ROI on campaigns and marketing pieces that they enter in this year's CUES Golden Mirror Awards competition.
One of the things that always comes up in discussions of marketing ROI is just how difficult (and how important) it is to measure. For ideas on how to do the numbers part well, I suggest looking at Ron Shevlin's Marketing ROI blog. (Search for "ROI" and see the wealth of relevant posts; or dive right in to "The ROI on Brand Versus the Value of Brand.")
I believe in the effort to get numbers. But reporters like me know that stories about people can be pretty compelling, too. So here are two personal experiences I've had with branding that you can add to your "convince the finance guy about the value of spending money on branding" arsenal. Have others? I'll look for your comments.
1. He knew the brand before his mom knew he could say "diaper." I took my son Robert shopping for diapers once when he was just over a year old and starting to talk. We walked down the Huggies aisle to get our big box and Robert said, "diapers." It was the first time I ever heard him say the word. Now, I'm a proud mom, but I know he wasn't reading the box. The colors and design, the shape of the box--all things he'd seen before and could easily recognize--are what (accurately) tipped him off to what was inside.
2. She visited once at age 10; when she returned as an adult, the only thing she remembered was the logo. This is about me and the Corning Museum of Glass. My parents took me as a kid and I'm sure it was a great time. But when I returned two weekends ago, the only thing I remembered was the logo, which is based on the look of a reheating oven. (By the way, if you ever get the chance to go to CMOG, be sure to try glassblowing yourself. The experience is well worth the price of the extra ticket.)
