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David Hessekiel  //  David Hessekiel is the founder and president of the Cause Marketing Forum, a business dedicated to helping companies and causes succeed together.

Nov 24 / 3:44am

The Great Measurement Dilemma

When I worked at a consumer promotions agency back in the 90's, I was astonished to discover how difficult it was to quantify the ROI of even a relatively simple consumer packaged goods program.

Put a coupon out in the marketplace and you'd think that you'd be able to fairly quickly and easily assess its impact.    Well it turned out that different retailers had different rules about coupon values.   That in some markets coupons were published at the same time that the product received special placement in stores.   That sometimes competitors tried to counter the impact of your coupon by lowering their prices.    And to make matters worse, there was a lag of several months between the time the coupon appeared in Sunday papers and the time you received meaningful reports from the coupon clearinghouses.    We often ended up with reams of data and few solid insights.

Solving that riddle is child's play compared to quantifying the impact of a cause marketing program.   Why?  Because we attach so many potential financial and social payoffs to these initiatives.   What was the impact on consumer attitudes toward the brand?    Did it impact sales?   Were employees motivated by the program?   How many people in need were aided by the program?    How much did the nonprofit have to invest in staffing and implementing the program relative to the contribution it received?    The list goes on and on.

Inadequate measurement is far from unique to the world of corporate social initiatives, but the positive potential of better capturing and communicating impact amplifies the need for stronger analysis.   As the great management guru Peter Drucker simply put it: "What is measured improves."

That is why the Cause Marketing Forum regularly returns to the topic of measurement with workshops, conference keynotes and -- coming on December 8 -- a teleconference.   On that date, Farron Levy, CEO of True Impact, will share "Cause Marketing Measurement: Techniques for Practical Implementation"   (If you can't make the live session at 1:30 pm EST, a recording will be available at http://causemarketingforum.com/audiocourses.asp)

Over the years True Impact has worked with companies from Deloitte to PNC Bank to The Home Depot to create workable systems for capturing meaningful data to assess the value of programs and insights on how to improve them.

Join us if you'd like to get a better handle on your cause-related program in 2010.