Make Sure You Focus on the Right Objectives

Make Sure You Focus on the Right Objectives

Everyone likes a home run. When we get rave reviews for a really creative idea, something indeed groundbreaking, we naturally feel immense satisfaction.

So … did it help the business?

Not to pour cold water on those warm feelings, but if you’ve been following our previous blog topics, you know that the answer depends on how well the campaign’s goals were defined against relevant corporate goals prior to launch, and how well it delivered against key metrics.

With that level of accountability established up front, you won’t need to wait for the applause to know whether you’ve scored.

You’ll be tracking at least some of the metrics in real-time, and have a very accurate sense of where the final tally will land.

Very, very importantly, you will be able to communicate the precise degree of success to senior management, even as you’re clearing shelf space for your new awards.

By all means continue to hold those high-energy brainstorming sessions. Encourage out-of-the-box thinking. Push the team to break new creative ground.

But when you sit back and start to evaluate the ideas, they must be viewed through the lens of business goals and objectives.

If we are going to generate massive social media response, is it the right audience? Exactly how do we want to influence them? How does traffic relate to revenue?

If we want to generate coverage in the mass media or the trade media, who are we trying to reach as the end consumer of that news? What action do we want them to take as a result?

Feel good about both the quality of your work – and the impact.