The debate over ad "quality" is often based on subjective opinions of brand fit. A more effective definition of quality is its ability to achieve the primary business objective: selling the product. Unconventional creative that drives sales, like Olay's "cat with lasers" ad, is by definition high-quality.
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The 'Mad Men' era of relying on a creative director's gut feel is obsolete. Many leaders still wrongly judge marketing creative based on their personal taste ('I don't like that picture'). The correct modern approach is to deploy content and use the resulting performance data to make informed decisions.
To prove marketing's ROI, run geo-fenced ad campaigns targeted at a specific set of retail locations. By comparing sales in these "test" stores against a control group of similar stores, you can measure the direct, incremental sales lift caused by your creative, providing black-and-white accountability.
Stop planning creative and media buys simultaneously. Instead, post creative organically first. Then, exclusively allocate media spend to amplify the content that has already demonstrated strong consumer engagement, forcing creative to be effective on its own merit before receiving paid support.
Strict adherence to brand cohesion often stifles creativity and results in subjective boardroom debates. Brands achieve more by focusing on creating relevant, timely content that resonates with their audience, even if it occasionally breaks established stylistic guidelines.
Shift the mindset from a brand vs. performance dichotomy. All marketing should be measured for performance. For brand initiatives, use metrics like branded search volume per dollar spent to quantify impact and tie "fluffy" activities to tangible growth outcomes.
