what is effectiveness?

by asi

“the planner’s ultimate job is to ensure that the work works”

Richard just wrote an interesting post which I believe will stir some debate(s) all over plannersphere:

The moment that we lose sight of our basic role to ensure effectiveness is the moment we concede that planners have no separate and defined role within the agency and we all descend into a homogeneous mush of creative generalism. If that’s the case then fine but lets abandon the idea of planning and hire more creatives.

Now, I’m sure that soon there will be hundreds of comments about planning 1.0 vs. planning 2.0 etc. But I’m personally less interested in defining the role of the planners. I truly believe that planners should define their own role based on their interests, strengths and passions and their agency and client’s needs. It’s the other bit of the story that I’m really keen to here some ideas.

In this brave new world we now live in, with consumers’ control, low attention processing, engagement, permission, utility and all other 2.0 buzz words, I am dead curious to know what other people are thinking about this – what is effectiveness? how do you define it? how do you measure it? how do you ensure it?

This is especially interesting in digital context as we hardly ever do a “creative-testing” advertising-like and clients increasingly asking – how do you know it will be successful?

Bad times coming if the effectiveness spirits penetrate digital…I hate to see this happens

I’d appreciate any contribution