Opportunity-To-Speak?

In 2004, I worked for a German car manufacturer planning a new launch campaign with a very groovy team of folk from a digital agency, global PR shop, a traditional ad agency and a big experiential outfit.  The client wanted us to come up with a concept for a non-TV led launch which we duly did.  It was great.  Even the grand fromage of said motor firm was excited about doing something different.   However, having spent half a lifetime selling the idea in and securing required funds, the tone of the project changed when the media guys from the ad agency showed up.  The reason was simple.  Unlike previous campaigns most of the money was not going above-the-line.  What followed could only be described as a metrics-off or maybe a data-duel.  My team arrived with models showing how we would forecast the performance of our integrated - yet experimental - campaign, and the traditional media guys showed up  with the usual armoury - TGIs, TVRs, rate cards, strikeweights, frequency and reach estimates etc.  And battle commenced.  The media guys wanted us to choose a single metric to measure all aspects of the campaign and suggested Opportunity-To-See (OTS) - the widely used way of estimating likely message views.  However, for our programme (which was a celebrity-driven, social web extravaganza + euro-roadshow) OTS made no sense.  The discussions then broke down into a slanging match where I suggested that OTS was a bit tired in a world where a trip to the shop for milk involves a media onslaught.  And the media guys rolled their eyes a lot whenever we mentioned words like engagement - or (god forbid) fun.  Needless to say, 50 years of media metrics did its job and battered our innovative proposal until the client got nervy and 'recalibrated' the spend.  I'm sure many of you reading this will have had very similar experiences.  For me, it was a good lesson in the intriguing, twisted nature of today's media markets which are, generally, interested in measuring media space, not head space.  Yes, it's tricky.  However, in a world where loudhailers are blocked out and everyone has a soap box, all campaigns should at least try and measure how effective they are in getting people to talk.  My suggestion is to introduce the metric Opportunity-To-Speak - how frequently the consumer is asked to participate. (Darn, wish I'd thought of that in Frankfurt! ;-))  What's your modern metric suggestion?

Comments

[Charles Frith]

Great post James. I've worked on a client that wants to be the most loved brand in the world and yet couldn't quite grasp that love is not a spreadsheet.

Love that line 'I suggested that OTS was a bit tired in a world where a trip to the shop for milk involves a media onslaught.' :)

[James Cherkoff]

Thanks Charles. Annoying isn't it. Metrics are driving cash around the mediasphere but the notions its based on seem increasingly weird. However, as one media grand fromage said to me last year - "we know the bike is broken, but it's the only one we've got."

[bert]

i remember that time! nice thought on OTS...

[James Cherkoff]

Hi Bert. Yes, I think we were a bit ahead of the curve with that one!