Topic
1 belief on MEASUREMENT THEATRE, written by Mahesh Murthy.
A large share of marketing measurement exists to make people feel measured, not to measure anything. Dashboards full of impressions, reach and engagement rates answer a question nobody asked. The question that matters is simpler and ruder: did this spend produce revenue, and how do you know?
We hold an unfashionable position on this. Different work runs on different clocks. Activation work should show up in revenue within the quarter. Brand work shows up in penetration, share of search and baseline sales over longer horizons. Both are measurable. What is not acceptable is the middle ground most reporting lives in, where nothing is ever tied to a business result on any clock at all.
Our interest here is not academic. Pinstorm gets paid on client outcomes, so measurement is how we earn. When the agency's income depends on the numbers being real, the numbers get real very quickly.
Every few years someone publishes a stat about how marketers can't prove their own value, and every few years the industry nods solemnly and goes right back to reporting click-through rates to the board.
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