Brent Hoberman (of lastminute.com fame) did the opening address at the Future of Digital Marketing 2008 conference today in London.
Presenting without PowerPoint, he took us on a lightening-fast and enlightening trek through his experiences, ideas and other random digital-related thoughts.
(It was a shame that the rest of the day couldn't live up to such a great opening... some of the presentations would have more appropriate at a 'past & current of digital marketing 2004' conference)
Brent knows he's been successful, but he wasn't arrogant enough to suggest he's an innovation genius. When talking about his newest innovation - mydeco.com - he was humble enough to suggest that there's still lots of learning to do. Some things that currently look like winning elements might not take off, and other simple ideas might end up being the killer app. Successful innovation comes from setting off lots of initiatives and ideas - not necessarily one 'big' idea.
So one thing Brent said really struck home - he questioned whether ROI can kill innovation. He wasn't saying that as marketers we shouldn't worry whether things are working or not - of course we should care about this. No, he was suggesting that the obsession with 'ROI' and 'certainty' will stop good and new ideas from happening.
How can you do something different and innovative if you need proof that it will work?
At worst this would mean only ever copying what you or your competitors have already done.
At best, proof can be 'found' by looking in different categories and piecing together 'evidence' from case studies that are similar to the strategy / idea that you're suggesting.
But history is written by the victorious. There are few case histories that demonstrate what hasn't worked. (Brand Failures by Matt Haig is the only real example I can think of). Looking within these 'case studies of success' from a source like the IPA Effectiveness Awards will quickly confuse you with success coming from apparently contradictory strategies for two different brands in the same category....
For me it comes down to the difference between efficiency and effectiveness.
Measurement and ROI analysis can only ever help you be more efficient. Spend your money again in places where it worked and take your marketing dollars out of stuff that doesn't. Good worthy stuff that we should all do. (Although I would argue that a red, amber, green model for 'should we do it again?' would simplify this process and prevent us having to wade through graph after graph of data analysis)
Improved effectiveness will only come from innovation. Doing something different to the category, different to the norm and providing some genuine value to the people you want to buy your product or service. Yes, measurement and ROI analysis can be one of the inputs into the innovation and ideation process, but 'proof' can never be found to justify something genuinely new.
So it worries me that whilst 2007 saw many agencies and businesses invest in innovation departments, job titles and descriptions, the current 2008 climate is seeing our friend ROI turning up to every party, with his close friends 'guaranteed' & 'proof' tagging along.
It's a party with lots of conflicting and loud voices. I just hope everyone can get along and innovation isn't ushered out the back door for being too unreliable...
2 comments:
In most sectors, customer needs and market requirements are dynamic and a change in company performance cannot be attributed to a single innovation. This would make measuring the effect of an innovation impossible. Then how exactly would you know your ROI? Before thinking about ROI on innovation we need to come up with an accurate measuring process. I would like to get your views on innovation in our corporate blog (mahindrauniverse.com).
Yes I'm worried about ROI in the hands of accountants - it is impossible to accurately predict ROI but we must try - If we can't measure it, how do we know if it has been successful - and by definition someting is only innovative if it makes a significant difference to the business ( in terms of profit).
You can then measure how much was spent creating, developing & getting to market and the corresponding profit generated over the corresponding time -- hence ROI.
Too many ideas have too much spent on them with no idea of the potential return - this must be one of the first things estimated - this then sets a limit on development costs and focuses on developing products that make money.
Innovation is nothing about commpletely new - that's just a potentially good idea. The Innovation process is about doing everything in your planning to ensure commercial success and profit. If you use a StageGate process, it is the proof-of-concept stage that will set the technical & commercial parameters for success as well as the financial constraints. Keeeeep Innovating.
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