Are You Wasting Half Your Marketing Dollars?

Something to ponder from the whitepaper “7 Secrets to Branding in the Nonprofit Organization,” produced by marketing firm BrandXcellence:

“You’re probably familiar with department store magnate John Wanamaker’s legendary saying: ‘Fifty percent of my advertising is wasted; I just don’t know which fifty percent.’ If that statement weren’t so accurate, we might laugh a little harder.

The fact is, the Advertising Research Foundation reports that, while the number is actually closer to 20 percent — but with some estimates as high as 80 percent — businesses waste between $30 and $50 billion each year on ineffective marketing.

And the primary cause of all those dollars being flushed down the toilet? Marketing and communications efforts that are not based on a solid foundation of brand strategy.”