Insights on Marketing Effectiveness/MROI:

Test and Learn: Prove Relevance [PDF]
By Andrew Pierce

This article discusses the test-and-learn approach to marketing investment and how it helps build marketing credibility while providing a platform for continuous optimization of the overall marketing mix. (Marketing News, 12/15/2007)

The CMO Challenge: Exiting the Comfort Zone [PDF]
By Michael Dunn

In this article, Michael Dunn argues that in order to be effective, marketers need to up their game, take on the new media, and be prepared to be adventurous, extending their influence over many of the critical business growth drivers. (Argent, September 2007)

Don't Be Afraid to Plunge Into Emerging Media [PDF]
By Scott Davis

Color today’s marketers dazed and confused. It’s an understandable reaction to an environment that has become almost impossibly complex, making it difficult for them to figure out where to start (or much less how to go about) meeting management’s escalating demands for demonstrable returns. (AdAge, July 23, 2007)

Prophet's State of Marketing Study: "The Effectiveness Imperative" [PDF]
By Prophet

Marketers continue to face an uphill battle when it comes to creating an effective marketing organization that demonstrably drives the business. Increasingly, senior management looks to marketing to enable, if not drive, short- and long-term business growth. Yet marketers typically don’t see themselves at the wheel for this particular journey. This gap is one of the highlights of our 2006/2007 State of Marketing Survey.

The Seven Surmountable Hurdles to Marketing Effectiveness [PDF]
By Andrew Pierce

One of the most pressing challenges marketers face today is finding the balance between the art and science of marketing to create strategies and programs that meet measurable business objectives. It’s called marketing effectiveness, and achieving it is doable – once some surmountable barriers are overcome. (MarketingProfs, April 17, 2007)

Mastering the Marketing Mix [PDF]
By Andrew Pierce

Leading companies are beginning to see what they’re getting for their marketing dollars. They are applying new approaches and quantitative techniques to make sense of previously inscrutable marketing choices.  It allows marketers to invest more effectively — and it makes them more accountable in terms of returns on investment. 

Evaluating Marketing Mix Tradeoffs: A Case Study of UnitedHealthcare [Webcast]
By Andrew Pierce

This webcast features Andy Pierce, Senior Partner, and Chris Gibson, CMO of UnitedHealthcare. The seminar discusses Prophet's work with UnitedHealthcare in assessing the effectiveness of their marketing communications efforts and identifying the link between spending on brand building, brand awareness, and member enrollment. (MarketingProfs, October 2006)

The Role of Marketing and Brand in Driving Growth [PDF]
By Scott Davis

Citing results from our State of Marketing survey, this webcast given by Scott Davis looks at the definition of growth within organizations and highlights inconsistencies in the way it is defined by chief executive officers, chief marketing officers, and other executives. Learn techniques you can use to identify opportunities for brand-driven and marketing-driven growth, and find out how to align your organization by creating synergies between business, brand, and marketing strategies. Finally, we provide a summary of findings and best practices that can help your organization close the growth gap. (Microsoft Executive Circle, April 2006)

Making Good on Marketing's Promise
By Scott Davis

Despite marketing's lingering reputation in some senior management circles as the function that is more interested in spending money than bringing it in, top-level marketers increasingly understand they share the same mandate as their peers in the executive suite: To help drive profitable business growth. (Microsoft Executive Circle, March 2006)

On Track [PDF]
By Prophet

Senior management is placing increased pressure on marketers to justify their budgets, and is continually looking for the bottom-line benefit of brand-building investments. At the same time, current tracking tools offer limited value. By delving into the next generation of brand tracking, marketers can improve both business performance and ease senior management's concerns. (Marketing Management, Sept/Oct 2005)

Marketing Investment Planning - B2B Catches Up [PDF]
By Prophet

From financial services to pharma to energy, B2B companies are embracing marketing. With intense competitive pressures, they have to identify sources of profitable growth, promise a better solution to customers, and ensure efficient and effective delivery on that promise. (Market Leader, Spring 2005)

Achieving Marketing ROI in Our Lifetime [PDF]
By Prophet

A point of view on the importance of understanding what drives the financial aspects of a business in order to measure marketing ROI. (2005 Handbook of Business Strategy, October 2004)

Make Your Mark [PDF]
By Jeff Smith and Sandra Roesch

Given the ever increasing scrutiny of marketing spending, this article discusses various approaches for measuring effectiveness of sponsorships. (The Marketer, October 2004)

Struggling To Find a Voice [PDF]
By Prophet

A discussion of the key observations form a survey of Financial Services Forum members on value and its role in marketing strategy. (Argent, August 2004)

Brand Metrics: Gauging and Linking Brand with Business Performance [PDF]
By Prophet

A discussion of the essential components of a brand metrics program, how it can and should be linked to business performance, and how one technology company used brand metrics to help it adjust its brand and business strategy. (Brand Management, May 2004)

Brand Metrics: Good, Bad and Don't Bother [PDF]
By Scott Davis

A perspective on the importance of linking metrics to overall business performance. (Strategy, January 2004)

What is not Measured is Not Managed: Tracking the Success of Your Brand Investment [PDF]
By Prophet

An overview of how it use metrics to measure the effectiveness of brand investments and to guide decision-making in the hotel industry. (National Hotel Executive, May 2003)

Brand Metrics Strengthen Business Health [PDF]
By Prophet

A summary of the role of brand metrics and the importance of linking brand and business strategies to select the most appropriate metrics for the your business. (Marketing News, March 2003)

Brand Metrics: Your Key to Measuring Return on Brand Investment
By Jeff Smith

this article provides practical advice on how to measure and track one of a company's most valuable assets-its brand. (MarketingProfs, January 2001)