Deep-Dish ROI. "Marketing is a journey ... a never-ending story," said Mike Winkler of HP at the ANA's annual meeting in Naples, last Saturday. Mike's story is about HP's journey, "from nowhere to somewhere," with the destination being HP's arrival as an "iconic brand." He talked about the "Total Customer Experience," which is shorthand for turning "invention and innovation into experiences, and not products." The comments were especially interesting because they came toward the end of a long, impressive presentation on how to achieve accountability in marketing -- and just before Mike played some of HP's latest television commercials, "even though," he said, "they have nothing to do with marketing accountability." The line drew a big laugh.

Barbara Ford of Kraft, also addressing accountability -- but in the context of how agencies and their clients work together -- rejected the notion that agency-client relationships were like marriages. She said the relationship really was more a "provocateurship" (yes, it's real word, in the dictionary) in which the two parties push, challenge and irritate each other. Barbara cited the rivalry between the artists Paul Gaugin and Vincent Van Gogh as an example of a "provocateurship" that forced greatness out of creative tension, and Madonna as a study in how to keep interest alive through continuous change. Barbara also said that thirty-second commercials were not the answer -- shortly before showing a reel of surprisingly artful Kraft television commercials for Oscar Mayer and Mister Peanut. She beamed, and rightfully so, as the audience applauded Kraft's truly great contributions to television advertising.

Would you like to know how Procter & Gamble defines Return-on-Investment? Ted Woehrle of P&G said ROI was about reaching consumers when and where it is most effective, at each consumer touchpoint. Most of his presentation centered on a VNU/Arbitron project called Apollo, in which consumers wear a little gizmo that picks up and records the media exposure they receive throughout the day. Saturday's session was capped by Paul Hyde of Booz Allen Hamilton, who presented a Booz/ANA study on the future of the marketing organization. Good news is, marketing today is seen as more critical to success. Bad news is, marketing is seen as disconnected from the CEO's agenda because it is too tactical, and insufficiently strategic. Paul echoed that marketing needs to move from products to experiences, find the "white spaces," build new businesses and lead integration across the organization with sales and R&D. He didn't mention television commercials, and he didn't show any, either. :-)

Tim Manners, editor