ARF Rises to ROI Measurement Challenge

The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) is picking the brains of New York's senior ad executives this week, with the latest in a series of workshops on measuring advertising ROI. At the Chicago session last month, participants were treated to strong views from Steven Levitt, author of 'Freakonomics'.

The workshops, entitled 'Advertising: What's Next? Beginning The Journey To 2010', are taking place on November 10 and 11 in New York, and on December 6 and 7 in San Francisco.

The ARF states that the two-day sessions for senior executives are designed to help develop the principles, tools and methodologies needed to 'market effectively in a future that looms frightfully close and remains muddy and unpredictable'.

Levitt will speak at both events, along with several industry leaders. Robert Barocci, ARF President and CEO, explains that, at the Chicago workshop: 'Levitt argued, with no equivocation, that he believes advertising ROI can be measured, the question 'does my advertising work or not' can be answered, and he is willing to help the industry do it.'

Levitt is looking for advertisers who are willing to collaborate with him in data analysis and hypothesis testing. This initiative and others will be developed further at the New York and San Francisco workshops.

Other contributors to the New York session are Lou Capozzi, Chairman, Publicis Public Relations & Corporate Communications Group; Dr Joseph Plummer, Chief Research Officer, ARF; Bob Greenberg, Chairman, CEO and Chief Creative Officer, R/GA; Gerald Zaltman, Harvard Business School and author of 'How Customers Think'; and Judy Hu, Global Executive Director, Advertising & Branding, GE.

The ARF is online at www.thearf.org.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.