• 0

Marketoonist | Tom Fishburne

Marketoonist is the thought bubble of Tom Fishburne. Marketing cartoons, content marketing with a sense of humor, keynote speaking.

  • Campaigns
  • Speaking
  • About
  • Cartoons
  • Contact
  • Book
  • 0

marketing short-termism

June 10, 2018 2 Comments

  • Paid licensing options include high resolution download.
  • Presentation $35.00 Add to Cart
  • Newsletter or Website $100.00 Add to Cart
  • Corporate Blog/Sponsored Post $50.00 Add to Cart
  • Looking for other licensing options? click here
  • View Cart
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Marketing for the long-term and the short-term is a constant balancing act. Pressure to show immediate results can lead marketers to focus on quick-hit sales conversation tactics, which can look good temporarily in marketing dashboards, but are far less effective in the long-run.

Last year, Peter Fields and Les Binet published an IPA report on on marketing effectiveness that charted brand investment from 500 campaigns.

Fields and Binet reported that an ideal brand investment was a 60:40 split based on marketing effectiveness, with 60% of budgets focused on long-term brand building and 40% on short-term sales activation. In recent years, the scales have tipped, with marketers investing more than 50% in short-term activations. In the four years prior to 2016, campaigns focused on short-term sales activation spiked to 72%.

Your Ad Ignored Here
"If marketing kept a diary, this would be it."
- Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs
Order Now

They found that short-term campaigns are twice as likely to generate large short-term sales spikes than long-term campaigns (which is why they are so appealing). However, only 3% of short-term cases generated large market share growth in the long-run, compared to 38% of 3+ year long-term campaigns.

This focus on short-termism is leading marketers astray.

Here’s how Peter Fields framed this dilemma in an editorial:

“The digital revolution means that we’re seeing a massive shift towards short term thinking in marketing. Instead of evaluations taking place over a year or more, which used to be the norm, people are increasingly looking back over weeks, days, perhaps even minutes.

“That is extremely damaging to effectiveness. We know (particularly when it comes to real-time evaluation) that it is leading brands to produce campaigns that maximize short-term effects. This, in turn, completely negates long-term success.

“What actually drives growth in the long-term is sustained commitment behind some kind of emotional association or message—or something that gets brands talked about. These are, in the vast majority of cases, not to do with timely offers or indeed new product functionality, but emotional platforms.

“And that is what will be sacrificed in the future—really powerful long-term branding.”

Here are a few related cartoons I’ve drawn over the years:

“CMO of the Month” October 2013

“Marketing Attribution” June 2017

“Owning the P&L” September 2017

Filed Under: digital transformation

Get a new marketoon each week:

Previous Post Next Post

shifting priorities and digital transformation

the personalization gap

Browse similar cartoons in: digital transformation

Browse By Category See All Marketoons

2 Comments

Join the Discussion
  1. Ted Simon says

    June 11, 2018 at 1:31 pm

    Brilliant and spot on, as usual, Tom. Your marketoon and Peter Fields’ editorial just nailed it. I only wish I had written this.

    Reply
  2. Allen Roberts says

    June 11, 2018 at 4:07 pm

    The challenge is for marketers to devise robust ways to connect marketing investment to future revenue and margin.
    While we remain the hostage of the accountants who look backwards, so are able to speak quantitatively, while we usually speak qualitatively, and often in cliches and fluff, (to our detriment) the situation will not change.
    I agree with the commentary, and it is getting worse with the advent of digital tech which seems to have taken a place at the right hand of God.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Paid licensing options include high resolution download.
  • Presentation $35.00 Add to Cart
  • Newsletter or Website $100.00 Add to Cart
  • Corporate Blog/Sponsored Post $50.00 Add to Cart
  • Looking for other licensing options? click here
  • View Cart
Your Ad Ignored Here Book Image

15 years of Marketoonist compiled for your marketing pleasure.

Order Now

About Marketoonist

tom_image

Marketoonist is the thought bubble of Tom Fishburne a career marketer and cartoonist. Learn More...

Subscribe

Get a new marketoon delivered to your inbox each week.

 

Browse Blog Posts

Most Popular Cartoons Browse Categories

Marketoon Campaigns

contentmarketing

Content marketing with a sense of humor.

Learn More

Keynote Speaking

speakingworkshops

Insightful, funny, and visual keynote talks and workshops.

Book Tom to Speak

Search Blog Posts

Interested? Let’s Talk!

Marketoons

Browse Categories

Get New Cartoons Weekly

About Marketoonist

Tom Fishburne is the Founder and CEO of Marketoonist, a content marketing studio that helps businesses reach their audiences with cartoons.

© 2023 Marketoonist