The Return on Media and Communications Outcomes

 

By Johanna Baker-Dowdall and Iggy Pintado

As a senior marketer for many years, it’s been difficult to almost impossible to justify a return on investment on media and communications. At the same time, I’ve worked in organisations that wouldn’t flinch in spending money on communication agencies, professional spokespeople, publicists, and lobbyists to develop and execute impactful messaging. 

It seems that the “return” is more qualifiable around planned proactive and reactive outcomes. I wanted to find out more about best practice in this space, so I approached Media & Communications Specialist, Johanna Baker-Dowdall who has been practising her craft for over 25 years. I posed these three questions to her:

Iggy: Is Return on Investment (ROI) a consideration for people wanting to invest in communication activities and initiatives?

Johanna: The idea of ROI on media and communications can be a difficult one to quantify. I have run my own writing and public relations agency for more than two decades and I’ve been asked to quantify the service I provide on numerous occasions. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for measuring your investment to make sure you’re hitting the mark (otherwise why are you doing it?), but when the activities you are undertaking for an individual or organisation are designed to position their name or brand top of a consumer’s mind it can be hard to specifically measure that success until the sales start to roll in for the business, tickets are sold for the event or the person is booked for that big speaking gig.

For example, if I was to ghost-write an opinion piece for a daily newspaper on behalf of a client and then pitch it, the ROI could simply be seeing the piece published. However, I would take it a step further and suggest it is what happens after the piece has been published and the client has been contacted by a different media outlet to comment on a breaking story as an expert in that space that is the real measure of success. The same goes for drafting and sending out a media release for an event. Is the ROI the number of times the event is mentioned in the target media, or is it the buzz built by attendees who tell others how good the event was so there are people waiting eagerly to book for the next event, even if it’s not for another year?

Iggy: Should people consider Return on Outcome (ROO) factors such as contextual messaging, brand reputation and impactful engagement with their audience/constituents?

Johanna: The questions I’ve posed about taking ROI a step or two further to realise true value is really the sweet spot for media and communications activity, and that is where ROO comes into play. When you consider Return on Outcome factors, a good strategic media/comms plan that spans multiple activities across varied media targets will build a brand’s reputation over time to encourage consumer trust. This makes it more likely that consumers will be willing to engage with that person or organisation in the future. Good strategic communications activity builds over time; it’s not something that happens within a week, or even a month. ROO factors like increased credibility, stronger name recall, and better brand recognition are all the result of financial investment but, more importantly, they build to create better outcomes.

“When you consider Return on Outcome factors, a good strategic media/comms plan that spans multiple activities across varied media targets will build a brand’s reputation over time to encourage consumer trust”

My current boss, for instance, is a politician. Our communications plan includes a mix of daily social media activity, monthly opinion pieces, regular e-newsletters and ad hoc media releases, media commentary and letters to the editor, coupled with regular speeches in parliament and updates on committee activity. This strategic plan has resulted in better name recognition (both within parliament and throughout the state), growth in social media following and engagement, more opportunities to connect with constituents and more interviews with media.

A consistent plan and strategic messaging have built over time with the result being a combination of objective and subjective measurables. Obviously, re-election is the ultimate in measurable results, but we’re not quite at that stage yet!

Iggy: What other OUTCOMES need to be considered in the communications space e.g., response management, potential damage control and follow up messaging?

Johanna: Communicating when things go wrong is something that is often forgotten from planning. Everything can be going swimmingly, with brand recognition high and great consumer engagement, but nothing defines how a brand or individual will be remembered as how they respond in a crisis. In the heat of the moment, when all you want is for the drama to end, it can be easy to try to explain it away or blame somebody else to protect yourself/the brand. 

Instead of panicking, think beyond the crisis to how you want to be remembered and then work backwards from there. Someone/a brand that gets out in front of a crisis, explains the situation, outlines a plan to respond to the event and then follows through with that plan is going to be in much better control of the message. They will realise better reputational outcomes and gain greater respect. And who knows, they might even pick up some new fans in the process. 

That’s a great outcome!

More about Return On Outcome at www.returnonoutcome.com 

Return on Outcome and Global Trading

By Lance Scoular and Iggy Pintado

More people are reconsidering their commercial careers for more appealing lifestyle options and entrepreneurial pursuits. In addition, Covid has also seen a dramatic increase in online ordering and shipping globally, opening the doors to the opportunity to establish a niche virtual business with global suppliers that cater to worldwide markets. 

 However, importing/exporting, and global trading are not without layers of risks that may hamper success. Risks are many and varied when trading goods and services between countries, and can impact a business venture, resulting in delays, extra costs, reduced profits and in a worst case, sinking a business.

In a nutshell, while a return-on-investment approach is required to measure the ongoing sustainability of the overall business, it is just as vital to plan and manage for the risks associated with global trading which ultimately, is the return on outcome to the organisation.  

Lance Scoular has been a Licensed Customs Broker for 40 years. He was engaged as an industry trainer by the Australian Federation of International Forwarders and today, he specialises in conducting courses and coaching businesses in the nuts and bolts of importing, exporting and global trading, to better navigate the minefield of international trade and transport.  He is the ‘go to guy’ in this space in Australia and is widely known as ‘The Savvy Navigator’.

Lance believes that importing/exporting and global trading is complex with different rules, regulations, prohibitions, taxes, duty rates, freight rates, etc. in different countries. Lance strives to educate students to visualise what could go wrong in their business processes, procedures, and systems to propel them toward positive outcomes for their business.

During his course, he emphasises that 80% of small businesses fail in the first five years. This is compounded by the fact that many businesses are or will be transacting internationally, which raises the failure rates stakes dramatically.  

From this perspective, a return on outcome approach needs to be at the forefront of business planning from the outset. Lance cites the example of a course attendee from the film industry who, after attending the first day, sent him an email saying that she realised the venture she had in mind was too risky to proceed with, but thanking him for making it abundantly clear to her that it was too risky. For this person, the return on outcome was in preventing failure after conducting due diligence on the risks associated with the venture, saving a lot of time, money, and heartache.

Lance has also dealt with entrepreneurs who seek trading process improvements to streamline and reduce costs to their supply chains. He tells of another person who discussed his original goal to cut out the middleman by importing directly from China but needed guidance on where to start. With Lance’s assistance, he located a supplier in China for imports to Australia and developed other markets in the Americas, establishing himself as a Global Trader. 

The acquisition of knowledge and information resulted in improved supply sourcing and expanded market reach and opportunity, effecting a positive multiplier effect.

Finally, there’s the return on outcome based on networked contacts. It’s often said that it’s not always what you know but who you know. Lance tells of a female student who attended his course, who years later, leveraged his experience as a Tradestart Export Advisor at the Australia Trade and Investment Commission (AUSTRADE), to put her in touch with an Export Market Development Grants consultant to obtain a grant of over $20,000 to cover the costs of two years of export marketing expenses.

An outcome comes in many forms and is not always quantifiable. It can be disguised as a risk and an opportunity. With the appropriate amount of knowledge, assessment, and action, it can result in a return on outcome that could mean the continued success or ultimate failure of a business. 

On March 22nd, he has partnered with the NSW Government, to provide a FREE Zoom Webinar for NSW Small Business Month 2022 entitled “Importing, Exporting and Global Trading for Small Business Made Easy”. 

Lance can be contacted directly on LinkedIn.

Happy ROO Year!

 

                                            

By Kaz Muddell and Iggy Pintado

Source image: reprinted with permission of The Big Issue Australia.

Recently, we saw an article that intrigued us. Despite all the best intentions, most people that make new year resolutions to get healthier, fitter and lose excess weight at the beginning of January, will inevitably fall off their respective programs before the end of the month. Wow.

The assumption is that these people spend their well-earned cash ‘investing’ in gym memberships, personal trainers, nutritionists, diet regimes and group exercise classes. In making this investment in their promised better health, they don’t plan to be receiving any direct financial return on their money.

Recently, the term Return On Outcome (ROO) has come into social thinking. It proposes that a return on outcome is a qualifiable, subjective measure of an investment based on the outcome realised, and not a quantitative, objective measure of investment based on a monetary return.

Assuming that most people aren’t expecting a quantifiable return on their health investments, we asked ourselves, what criteria do people use to outlay their cash for the promise of better health. And why do most of them give up within a month so easily?

Since 2006, Kaz Muddell has been helping people of all ages and fitness levels improve their quality of life. Her Mind Body Motion business offers personal and virtual training and group classes. This is her practical perspective.

When a client signs up with her for personal training or to attend a group class, they don’t expect a financial return on their investment, although they do expect to “get their money’s worth”. By investing their funds, they expect to lose weight, improve their fitness, go down a dress size and so on. Their goals are not financially quantifiable, but they can envisage a return on outcome.

Short term results are possible, but not sustainable. Becoming healthy is not an overnight process. It takes dedication and an investment of time and their best return on their desired outcomes will be through long-term adoption of disciplined and habitual practices.

Exercise isn’t just about what you look like or how fit you are. Exercise is also about quality of life in the forms of improved mobility, building strength to reduce injury in the future, endurance, and improved mental wellbeing. 

Kaz works with people of all ages, and many are over 60. The outcome for these people is to be able to participate in the hobbies they enjoy, many of which are physical such as gardening, walking, playing with their grandchildren, or snow skiing. The desired outcome is to have the strength and mobility to enjoy these activities, and have a lower risk of injury whilst doing so.

The return on outcome can also vary depending on whether the person chooses to attend a gym or to work with a personal trainer. This can often be the catalyst as to whether they keep going, even if they don’t achieve their goals in the short term. 

Surrounding yourself with like-minded people creates a social atmosphere as well as providing some level of accountability. Regardless of what option you choose, it’s always more motivating to work with others and have someone challenge you, hold you accountable to your commitment, and it’s more enjoyable.

The original premise of return on outcome was to challenge the notion that everything has a return on investment (ROI). This is a clear example of how some personal investments do not have a direct ROI. Instead, people realise a return on outcome based on more qualifiable outcomes.

Therefore, it’s proposed that commencing this year, considering the return on outcome (ROO) on both personal and business decisions should be more duly considered.

 So, for now, have a Happy ROO Year!

What is Return on Outcome?

by Iggy Pintado

Last December, I wrote an article with Dr. Chris Baumann that was published in CMO magazine, called Introduction to Return On Outcome.

In the article, I related a story about a conversation with a Chief Finance Officer where I requested some funds for a program I wanted to run. He not only explained that I needed to show a return on investment (ROI) on the requested funds but that Everything has an ROI. Hmm..

After a career in marketing, I got used to the rejection of requested expense budgets unless a ‘quantifiable”, monetary return could be clearly articulated.

However, I challenge the specific words: Everything has an ROI.

Businesses can use ROI criteria to justify an expense investment. I question if it is the ONLY criteria for determining if a program that assists the business is approved or not. Are there other more qualifiable criteria that deliver business returns that cannot be quantified but justifiably benefits a business generally or specifically?

Should ROI be the only criteria for determining if an idea produces a desirable outcome?

The proposition is to consider a return on outcome perspective. Simply put, a return on outcome (ROO) is a qualifiable, subjective measure of an investment based on the outcome realised, and not a quantitative, objective measure of investment based on a monetary return.

 
Personally, I don’t use ROI in many personal decisions. For example, in determining whether to donate some of my hard-earned salary to a cause. There is no quantifiable return to a charitable donation. Instinctively, the outcome achieved is in feeling good about contributing to a worthy cause. The return is in the outcome realised, not in an objective return on funds invested.

 
In business, the return on investment of hosting a corporate client at their favourite football game cannot be directly quantified, but there are qualifiable returns in an improved, sustainable relationship between a satisfied client and the sales teams that may lead to the purchase of the company’s products and services over time. 

Similarly, it’s hard to quantify sending a single staff member to an expensive operational improvement course. However, once the individual returns from the course and shares their learnings with their colleagues, the potential improved team productivity and morale boost benefits of developing the individual and fellow staff members is realised.

Return on outcome (ROO) is a qualifiable, subjective measure of an investment based on the outcome realised.

So, does everything have an ROI? In the ensuing series of posts on this Return On Outcome blog, I’ll be collaborating with practioners primarily to get their regular and practical experience on return on outcome. 

Please join me here and contribute with any comments and insights.