Les Binet

In this extract from his article "Navigating Covid 19 - survival, adaptation and recovery", Les argues that some responses to the Covid crisis have been overly simplistic. He explains why this is not a "normal" recession, and why the lessons from previous recessions may not apply.

The COVID-19 recession is not just an economic recession – it’s also a humanitarian, social and political crisis – which means that the normal rules of marketing and business may not apply.

In this article, Les Binet (Head of Effectiveness, adam&eveDDB) outlines a framework for thinking about how to adapt your marketing strategy to the crisis.

Until now, there has been relatively little empirical research into the effectiveness of business-to-business (B2B) marketing. This report is a first step towards remedying that. Drawing on data from the IPA Databank, Binet & Field identify 5 key principles for effective B2B marketing. Interestingly, the findings suggest that B2B is not as different from other areas of marketing as one might have expected.

This book continues our analysis of how marketing works in today's digital economy. Here we look at how the rules of marketing effectiveness need to be adapted to different brands, categories and situations. In particular, we show how the rules differ in the online context. A must for anyone looking to build brands in a digital world.

Most books on marketing focus on the success stories. This one is different. Drawing on over 60 years of combined experience, Les and Sarah expose the myths, mistakes and mis-perceptions that all too often screw things up. By highlighting the pitfalls that lurk at each stage of the planning process, they show how to sharpen up your strategic thinking, produce better creative work, and get more bang for your marketing buck.

“This book pissed me off immensely. Everybody who reads it will… Show more

Most books on marketing focus on the success stories. This one is different. Drawing on over 60 years of combined experience, Les and Sarah expose the myths, mistakes and mis-perceptions that all too often screw things up. By highlighting the pitfalls that lurk at each stage of the planning process, they show how to sharpen up your strategic thinking, produce better creative work, and get more bang for your marketing buck.

“This book pissed me off immensely. Everybody who reads it will have an advantage I never did. You lucky buggers” - Martin Weigel, Wieden+Kennedy
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Our latest analysis looks at how the digital revolution is transforming the rules of marketing. In part one, we look at the changing media landscape. How should marketers best combine old and new media to maximise effectiveness. We look at the empirical evidence, to see what works and what doesn't in today's world.

This publication is the successor to Marketing in the Era of Accountability, examining the impact of timescales of effect, exploring the tension between long and short-term strategies for brands and businesses as well as providing evidence-based recommendations on how best to approach investment in advertising

Interview with IPA President Ian Priest on the results of our latest research

A summary of the main findings from "The Long and the Short of IT", our follow up to "Marketing in the Era of Accountability", which examines the business effects of 1,000 advertising campaigns from over 30 years of IPA Effectiveness data. It provides evidence-based recommendations for businesses on how best to approach investment in advertising, and how to balance short and long term objectives.

A 1 day training course in advertising evaluation

Presentation from the 2011 MAP Conference on best practise in the evaluation of digital marketing.

A critique of loyalty marketing

5 common assumptions about how advertising works, and why they are all wrong.

This article summarises the findings in the authors’ book: Marketing in the Era of Accountability (2007).

Why the drive for "accountability" in marketing can lead to poor business decisions, especially during tough economic conditions.

A short guide to calculating the financial payback from advertising.

Les Binet, European director of DDB Matrix, and marketing consultant Peter Field discuss the measures used to assess effectiveness (doing the right thing) and accountability (being seen to do the right thing). Using the IPA databank - containing 1200 case studies - they reveal that intermediate measures which are usually the most sensitive to marketing activity are very poor predictors of business success; and that when selecting business metrics marketers often concentrate on the wrong ones… Show more

Les Binet, European director of DDB Matrix, and marketing consultant Peter Field discuss the measures used to assess effectiveness (doing the right thing) and accountability (being seen to do the right thing). Using the IPA databank - containing 1200 case studies - they reveal that intermediate measures which are usually the most sensitive to marketing activity are very poor predictors of business success; and that when selecting business metrics marketers often concentrate on the wrong ones. They conclude by recommending multiple key performance indicators, but clearly prioritised - and adopting the 'fame' model. Show less

A short summary of some of the themes outlined in "Marketing in the Era of Accountability", and in particular the dangers of focussing too narrowly on ROI.

Addressing the hot topic of accountability, Les Binet and Peter Field argue in their Viewpoint for a change of emphasis in the metrics traditionally used for measuring the impact of marketing.

Advice on some of the blunders to avoid if a campaign is to be evaluated effectively.

Correct evaluation of marketing activity is essential to ensure that marketing money is spent wisely and not wasted. It also increasingly affects remuneration. This best practice article offers twenty `golden rules’ for ensuring that evaluation is done properly. The author draws on the IPA databank of more than 1,000 case histories, plus eighteen years of evaluation campaigns for DDB.

A 1 day course on marketing effectiveness and evaluation

A monthly column, in which Les and Sarah get a little bit cross about some of the marketing nonsense they hear around them.

A 30 hour training course on advertising evaluation and effectiveness.