Half-Wasted
Half-Wasted is where we take this quotation seriously:
"I know half of my advertising is wasted, but I do not know which half."This statement has been attributed separately to both Lord Leverhulme (founder of Unilever) and John Wanamaker (US retail pioneer). Although nearly a century old, it is now most often cited as an excuse for creatives, media agencies and even client-side marketers to not be more accountable for the money that is spent on communications. They think that invoking this quotation lets them off the hook when asked "which part of the campaign worked best?" I've even heard it referred to as Leverhulme's Curse, as if there's a supernatural force against which agencies struggle valiantly but to which they ultimately succumb. And blow millions of dollars in the process.
A hundred years ago, the data did not exist to answer this challenge, but it does now. With these Half-Wasted posts, I want to use a much more modern type of media data - single source - to illuminate and better measure problems that relate to media waste. By doing so, I hope to help advertisers and agencies think about their media usage from new points of view, challenge old assumptions and establish a more solid basis for improving their media usage practices.
Feedback is welcome; just email me.
The views expressed in Half-Wasted are my own and do not necessarily represent All Media Count.
Mike Underhill
Founder & CEO, All Media Count
