Marketers should be taking more big swings

Marketers are playing it too safe with their advertising dollars and losing money and opportunity because of it. They should be taking more big swings — or at least, that was our hypothesis going into episode four of our video series, The Hypothesis. In this episode, we talk about what big swings are, what marketers lose when they play it too safe, how to take calculated big swings, finding the right opportunities and budget, getting team buy-in, and more. Watch the full video below or listen to the episode here to get this conversation in its entirety. More of a skimmer? Keep reading for our top takeaways.

Top takeaways from this episode 

What are big swings?

• Big swings are strategic opportunities with the potential to impact business results in a bigger way than the everyday incremental improvements (like bid changes or copy adjustments) - moving the needle in business revenue or profitability > 10-20%. 
• As ad managers, a big swing normally takes the shape of a shift from one media mix strategy to another, or a new channel or funnel investment to unlock business and brand growth.
• Big swings are higher risk, higher reward and can lead to meaningful changes in the marketing program or understanding of the market.

What is preventing marketers from taking those big swings now?

• By definition, big swings also imply some risk. Because of this, big swings are calculated, well-planned experiments worthy of plotting out in our yearly media roadmaps and making space for in budget and performance forecasts. 
• They require planning, resources, and buy-in. Big swings can’t be made in a vacuum and need a heavy lift to get into motion.
• Organizational incentives aren’t often tied to experimentation. If your bonus is based around ROAS, you aren’t likely to want to mess with your existing program. 
  
  

How can marketers start planning and budgeting for strategic big swings?

• Planning and budgeting for big swings requires mapping out assumptions in your marketing program, prioritizing testing, and evaluating opportunities.
• There are always shiny new channels or campaign types to test but the key to finding the ‘right’ opportunities for a big test. Big swing opportunities lie at the intersection of changing business objectives and new insights gathered from within the business or external sources (competitor analysis, new channel, new audience trends).
• Big swings should be paired with a clear experimental plan including some combination of an in-platform conversion, brand or search lift test, or as we often do for our clients, a geo-lift experiment to measure the incremental impact. This plan should include the KPIs you hope to influence and the minimum effect size or budget/investment needed need to make a splash. 
• A customer-centric approach is crucial, focusing on how customers interact with the business and where they can be reached most effectively rather than what your competitors are doing.
• Change management is necessary to convince stakeholders and overcome institutional roadblocks.

Don't forget: you learn as much from a failed test as a successful one.