The reason that so many managers aren’t satisfied is that the measurement tools being used just aren’t up to the job. Typically they fall in two camps:

• MODELLING: i.e. mathematics using existing data sources to derive a line of sight from activities to sales
• PROCESS AUDITING: i.e. tracking a brand’s behavior from strategy through plan to execution in market, to understand if the strategy actually got delivered to customers or not.

Both of these techniques deliver a lot of value to managers, but they don’t provide a complete answer because they leave crucial knowledge gaps. Modelling has two major limitations (even if you buy into the mathematics).

The first is that it doesn’t encourage innovation –in fact it often ignores it. That’s because a model can’t tell you anything about things you haven’t already done (or that might be too small to shift the needle).

So how does this impact managers? It makes life harder for innovators, because they have to fall back on flaky metrics that don’t convince management.

The second is that modelling is inevitably inward looking i.e. what did MY activities achieve among MY customers? Managers will miss competitive threats until it is too late, and fail to see opportunities to engage with customers in the future.

Process audits need less explanation – they are measuring activities, not outcomes.

Any manager knows that if you set your priorities based on this, there is a huge risk that you end up focusing on what you like doing, rather than what works.

Just to be clear, both of these techniques do have a lot to offer for refining and delivering your current execution. They just aren’t the tools to achieve a more integrated and innovative communications program.