This afternoon I witnessed a very intriguing presentation of research that had been conducted by IMI, Cossette, and Canadian Business. The report was entitled Gauge.

I added the Dirty Dozen shotgun reference to the title of my blog, because the research really shot some holes in a ton of existing marketing mythology. The study was done with over two hundred CEO’s and CMO’s of major Canadian firms. Big companies. The type we want as clients. Some of you want as sponsors. Others want as employers.

The purpose of the work was to understand what was on their minds. It was fascinating stuff, and among other things told us that:

• Most executives think they can steal market share right now… that’s good.

• Most don’t think they have enough budget and they won’t be increasing their budgets… I can live with that, though you may argue.

• That brand activation tactics were more important right now than equity build…great if you can provide experiential or value based offers… far from great if all you are selling is brand affiliation.

• That most CEO’s felt their marketing group wasn’t aligned with the company’s core purpose… huh?

• That most CMO’s felt Sales and HR were not aligned with their company’s core purpose… now children!

• That most CEO’s and CMO’s don’t measure their marketing expenditures… uh oh.

When confronted with these results, to their credit, most executives do not deny them. They are unsure as to what works and what doesn’t. They have macro indicators from past campaigns, but not the true analysis they need.

Unfortunately this means they jump to what’s hot. Insert “Social Media” here. Five times this month I’ve been asked to create a Big Job campaign, with a Little Man budget! Or they resort to what has worked in the past. Insert “Price Discount” here.

But it’s not their fault.

It is ours. As Employees. Agencies. Sponsees. Consultants. Managers. Advisors. Planners. Sellers. Marketers. Creators. Researchers. Activators. Branders.

It is our job to integrate metrics, measurement, and rigor into everything we do. It is easy to skip that step when times are good, and budgets are flowing like Budweiser at the Stampede.

But even though that was just one year ago, times have changed.

So get out your 12-gauge. Aim steady. Fire.

If you didn’t hit the bulls-eye, call a professional. Find out why not? Before you reload. Before you fire again. Before you even decide you have the right marketing tool in your hands.