Q&As

Marketing has taken the first steps toward accountability, but the journey is long, and most of it lies ahead, not behind. That’s the overarching message from the Association of National Advertisers.

Measurement is a hot topic for marketers today. Everyone is under pressure to demonstrate results, deliver value to their firms and justify budgets.

To summarize campaign effectiveness, marketers need some kind of conclusive metric, such as return on investment. But in B-to-B, when a campaign’s revenue often is sizable compared with its expenses, ROI is problematic.

How this for return on investment? Direct marketers plan to spend an average of $250,000 on database upgrades this year, and four out of five expect the expenditures to pay for themselves, according to Direct magazine’s 2006 database practices survey.

Targeted marketing to customers will drive increased sales and profits, but most companies are overwhelmed by the idea of marketing one to one.

You go to the restaurant. You eat the food. You like the food. You tell your friends. You go back to the restaurant. And if they know your name when you return, well, cheers, right?

Why then, do only seven of the top restaurant chains in the United States bother to have loyalty programs?

So how do you choose where you go out to dinner? Maybe you look for a cozy little bistro with a nice wine list? Or you ponder whether to nosh on upscale Italian or sushi?

If you’re dining with a small child, chance are your criteria runs more along the lines of “What toys do they have this week? Does Burger King still have ‘Superman Returns’ stuff? Which ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ thing does McDonald’s have? Is it the sword? He really wants the sword. Wendy’s has what? Six Flags toys? What the heck are they, action figures of the bald dancing guy?”

In a scant six months, Burger King’s television commercials have gone from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Carnivores like a good Web site just as much as the next herbivore. So, this month we decided to cut into a few of the numerous steakhouse pages on the Internet menu.

Gift giving is about to become a little more personal thanks to a new breed of gift cards and pre-paid cards that taps the appeal of celebrities.