It is becoming increasingly important to clients that clear and measurable KPI’s are set for all aspects of their media campaigns. This area is often overlooked when planning or is not given the resources needed by the client. And, yet it is a hugely important area and one which everyone is in favour of. In order to be able to have a conversation with clients on the KPI’s needed to effectively measure their advertising campaigns it is necessary to understand how these KPI’s are correctly set and evaluated. The IPA Eff Test will allow you to do just that.

While I knew that effectively measuring campaigns was a vital part of marketing and media, I felt I lacked the confidence to start a conversation about effective measurement of ad campaigns.  I looked to IAPI and what was available to me and I found out about the Eff Test. Ireland is the only area outside the UK (the test is run by the IPA) that offers this accreditation. This qualification aims to develop all members to a standard where they can identify and plan effectiveness measurements and in doing so, create effective campaigns for their clients.

The course is a 30 hour introduction to effectiveness measurement and spans several areas of communications. It is online learning only and gives you an overview of topics, recommended reading time, case studies and videos from industry leaders to help course learning. It also offers a handy forum for help and discussion in which you can interact with other course participants – a useful tool considering that a lot of people taking this course will be doing so on their own initiative.

It is a broad curriculum, if your experience lies mainly in one area, be prepared to read and learn about others. This is one of the parts that I found most enjoyable. In my case coming from a media background I had the opportunity to learn about the difficulties faced in effectively measuring a PR campaign or the benefit of econometric analysis to a client’s business. One of the areas I found most interesting was the breakdown of how to calculate Payback and ROMI. These are set metrics that are used in marketing departments and the course provided a step by step guide on how to understand these. I have found that with these particular marketing measures, planners often do not understand how these are calculated and in fact get them wrong.

So, why should planners take the Eff Test? Having recently attended an Adfx Energiser by IAPI, two very senior marketing leaders pointed out that agencies need to prioritise ad effectiveness as the basis for a longer-term relationship with clients. Discussing advertising effectiveness is a proof point for agencies to show their investment in client business while also gathering campaign case studies for themselves. The Eff Test is a qualification that equips you to do both. If still unconvinced, let our clients’ needs be the determining factor. Clients are now more accountable than they have ever been before this is due to budgetary cuts and the constant need to justify marketing spends on the bottom line. We, as an industry, need to ensure that we are armed with the know-how and results to justify our ideas – and your clients will thank you for it.

For more information check out The Eff Test.