ROI is about a state of mind, not a mathematical equation//

There’s much more to ROI than passively measuring the difference between ‘A’ (gross profit before campaign) and ‘B’ (gross profit after campaign) and subtracting ‘X’ (cost of campaign). First and foremost, ROI is about a mindset: a determination to deliver. Finding a creative partner that walks the walk, and doesn’t just talk the talk, is the first and most important step towards ROI, and one that never makes it into the text books.

At Factor 3, we’re zealous about ROI; we’re all about making work that works. Seems like a given, doesn’t it? You’re probably thinking “surely every agency says that, don’t they?” Well, you’d be right. And you’d be wrong. Every agency will certainly tell you they believe in it, and that it’s at the heart of everything they do. In most instances, however, I think that’s lip-service. If your agency had to choose between winning an award and delivering ROI, I’m not sure you’d be happy about the choice they’d make behind closed doors.

For us, ROI means return on ingenuity. It’s an old adage, but certainly a truism, that if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. Our clients look to us for fresh ideas built on insight – ideas that challenge the status quo and make a difference to their bottom line. Our agency proposition – ‘winning made more fun’ – quite literally has success as its forethought. Our goal is to help our clients succeed and achieve ‘mission accomplished’ on every project we deliver – that’s winning.

Another factor that makes a huge difference when it comes to ROI is attitude: openness and positivity. Far too many creatives are primadonnas who will not have their glorious work challenged or critiqued. We’re acutely aware that what we do is a commercial exercise; we’re not creating art. Whilst we believe in and will vehemently defend the strategic rationale that sits behind every single piece of work, we’re not precious; we genuinely welcome our clients input. This should be a partnership, after all. Whilst we believe we get better over time, as our knowledge and relationship deepens, we can never know a client’s business as well as they do. Of course you should be able to add value through your feedback. It’s our challenge to accommodate that feedback but still maintain the clarity of the original creative idea.

The only time that we tend to crank up the awards machine is when it’s suggested by a client. We think that’s a pretty good way to remain focused on the role of the work and not get distracted by ulterior motives. When a client is so proud of the work that we have created together that they suggest entering it into their industry awards, that’s a great reward in itself. One such example of an award winning campaign, which also delivered an ROI of 13:1, was our work to relaunch and reinvigorate the Hepworth Clay brand. When our client suggested entering our campaign into the Construction Marketing Awards, we were delighted to oblige for two reasons. Firstly, because it’s a huge compliment and, secondly, because we discovered that it was an awards scheme that focuses just as much on impressive ROI as great creativity. The rest, as they say, is history, and testament to the fact that if you focus on the work and approach it with a resolute and positive attitude, the ROI will follow.

Read more about our award winning Hepworth Clay campaign here.