Imagine a world in which public companies could present accounts in any way, style or form to the stock markets around the globe. Or a world in which you could opt out of presenting anything at all to shareholders. It would be ridiculous, but why- The accounts give a reflection of where we are now, or have come from. They give little indication of the needs of brand develop- 178 THE METRICS MARKETER ment now or for the future, and only a shorterm view of profitability. What is equally important is new product development (NPD), marketing invest- ment in brands, medium-term potential, and audited market shares. None of this information is required by law, or even by shareholders, seemingly.
It is tempting for companies to hide behind the fact that they don't want their competitors to know their marketing strategy. This doesn't wash any more. In an age where information is increasingly traded and given away on the Web, marketers are increasingly aware of their competitor's activities. A more relevant question to these CEOs would be, "Do YOU know your marketing strategy?" Allyth.; We know our brand shares, profitability by product, our household penetration iii advertising; we even know our competitor's brand shares, we don't need to measure anything else. This is actually the bare minimum one would expect a self-respecting marketing team to measure. There are arguments for many measures, some broad, some industry-specific, however, key measurements should include.
THE PUBLIC COMPANIES DEALING WITH THE STOCK MARKET