marginally subversive

the problem with traditional reach in media planning

2009-11-12T22:04:36-05:00

… is that the metric does not capture the new ways that people get information. Traditional media – such as TV, radio, presses, and outdoor media – have been traded on reach, GRPs, and frequency. The most basic of dictums in media planning is “reach X% of people at least Y number of times in order to effect a change in their behavior, as cost-efficiently as possible”. This statement is in essence based on a “trade-off” between the number of people one reaches and the information complexity that a medium can carry and deliver. It is the foundation of media...

marketing analytics and econometrics principles

2009-11-11T22:43:25-05:00

I believe that anybody can fit a model to a set of data – however random those data may be, there will always be relationships. Some relationships may be valid – some may be spurious and coincidental. Some relationships are probably worth checking out further – some are simply downright irrelevant. Numbers – and data – can always be arm-twisted, bent, fashioned to meet one’s needs. Equations and models can always be created with sufficient data points. But what really matters is interpretation. Based on my experience and beliefs, I have crafted the following ‘principles’ of accountability and econometrics in...

calculated mediocrity for survival, anyone?

2009-11-08T11:14:01-05:00

Seth Godin writes in his latest blog post - If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do work that matters, this is it. You can't say, "but I need to make a fortune instead," because that's not happening right now. So you might as well join the people who can say, "I love doing this." In an earlier entry, Godin also wrote about "taking what you can get". I have had this notion that in order to survive in these tough economic times, one has to somehow ride the wave - and the wave has been...

of social media and of branding: impulsive thoughts...

2009-11-05T22:09:11-05:00

I picked this one up from the PlanningLab's blog. As much as I like social media, I find its true limitation lies in brand building. This Louis Vuitton ad does a fantastic job in storytelling, brand repositioning as well as selling the product. As planners AND creatives, we should not fall blindly into new ways of engaging and reaching in place of efficiency in communication. The role of communications is often more important than the actual message. via theplanninglab.typepad.com [Emphases mine] I don't I agree that social media has its limitations in brand building. First and foremost, I define social...

Decisions, data, and interpretations

2009-11-05T21:50:42-05:00

As always, Seth Godin has got me thinking in his latest post - when data and decisions collide. These are just a few of the millions of examples of counter-intuitive data-driven findings. It took Galileo decades to persuade people the light objects fell as fast as heavy ones... even though he was busy dropping them off buildings for all to see. I wonder how long it will take us to get our arms around this avalanche of insight. Probably longer than most of us think, and marketers that jump too quickly to data are going to be disappointed (while lifehackers...

the beauty of statistics

2009-11-05T01:18:43-05:00

… lies in its ability to provide us with frameworks and structures with which to see the world as it may be. I am constantly barraged by questions on ‘goodness-of-fit’ measures. People question models based on their adjusted r-squared’s, their AIC, their-D-W indicators and everything else that you can think about. There are discussions that sometimes lead to frustrations from either the analysts’ part, the clients’, or the strategists’. Everyone wants to be sure that the model is accurate. That when 100 dollars are invested, indeed, there will be a return of 50%. That when 200 dollars are invested, indeed,...

of social moods and investments in advertising, 2

2009-11-02T02:43:30-05:00

From my earlier post... So... are social moods - measured by the stock market - related to investments in advertising? Are marketing decision-makers being moved by social moods - indirectly through the stock market? Are their investments in advertising and marketing being influenced by social moods? Below is a chart showing the monthly stock market index in Singapore from February 2003 until September 2009 -charted against the advertising spends for the same period. At first glance, there seems to be no relationship: The blue line - which depicts the stock market - seems to on a significant linear growth trend...

of social moods and investments in advertising

2009-11-02T02:14:19-05:00

I have been a strong believer that how people feel have a strong influence on their buying behavior. This would sound like an obvious, logical conclusion. But it somehow gets categorized as one of those truths that need not be explored further because it is so obvious that even someone who doesn't work in advertising or marketing sees it. The thing is, it is not that obvious to some - and somehow, we need to measure it and quantify it. It is for this reason that in a previous life, I promoted the creation of a consumer sentiment index with...