A measured response to metrics
I recently treated myself to an Apple Watch. It isn’t my first smart watch or even ( I can hear the Followers of Job sharpening their swords) my favourite. But it is the first that monitors my heart rate – among other things.
As I t ype this, my ventricles are pumping at 81bpm. My resting rate today has been 71bpm, and my walking average 106bpm. It being deadline day, I’ve only taken 2,722 steps and burned a paltry 259 calories.
Now I’m becoming concerned that I’m not getting enough exercise, and that perhaps my heart rate is too high. Why? Because I can measure it.
“What gets measured gets managed,” said someone destined to be quoted too often by keynote speakers at every marketing conference ever. And so it is with my steps and heart.
The same is true for more and more aspects of our business. Inspiration must be backed up with data in today’s industry, and we are gradually discovering which half of our advertising we’ve been wasting all along.
Perhaps my pulse isn’t the important thing, though. Perhaps it’s my blood pressure I should be watching. But I’m not. Because I can’t. I don’t have that machinery on my wrist yet. So I measure what I can.
This makes my pulse a potential AVE. That’s the standard measure of PR. Turn to Fares Ghneim’s article on page 21 to see why AVEs are not the best measure of publicity. But also why Ghneim says we should carry on using them. For now.
It’s often better to measure something than nothing, even if it’s not the perfect measure. And with so many more metrics available, deciding the best numbers to watch is becoming harder. In this issue, which focuses on measurement and intelligence, we have AVEs, print audits, radio diaries, polls, predictions and more. Have a look and see what data works for you.
A lot of it comes from digital sources, of course. And there are plenty of specialist companies that can measure all aspects of digital marketing. Which brings me to our next issue. It will be focused on advertising technology, and I’d like to hear from you. We are planning a directory of ad tech companies and digital agencies, and I need you to give me your details. Drop me a line on the email below asap, and I’ll reply with the basic information we need, as well as details of how to make your entries stand out better.
That’s how we are doing our research to make the market a more navigable place. It’s a project to set the pulse racing. Though I don’t want to think about what it’s doing to my blood pressure.