Research reveals the difference between efficient and effective ROI

As a fresh financial year begins, marketers, now more than ever, are working to ensure they are dedicating their campaign budgets to the right channels to deliver strong sales growth.

The latest edition of the Payback Series, an Australian-first study analysing the campaign performance of 60 brands with a collective annual turnover of $23 billion and an annual media spend of $450 million, has found media return on investment (ROI) is improved when brands consider time frames for return on investment in their campaign planning and quantifies potential media-driven sales squandered for those that don’t.

ROI is important for marketers to ensure media investment is performing; however, the fifth edition of the research highlights the payback over time. While most media channels deliver positive ROI, some channels generate sales for longer periods making the return on investment more valuable as the channel drives greater and sustainable business growth.

The most recent tranche of the Payback research was conducted in partnership with GroupM and global marketing effectiveness consultancy Gain Theory with five tranches of the study conducted to date.

Findings of the research include:

• Media channels differ markedly in their ability to deliver sales volume
• The scaleability of media channels’ ability to drive sales demand varies
• Media channels work together to create a multiplier effect on sales demand, but not to the same extent
• The risk, or variability, of delivering ROI and sales volume differs between media channels