• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, September 25, 2019

On social as well as other media channels, the time that marketers have to course-correct after launching flawed ad campaigns has never been shorter.

That’s according to new research from consulting firm Bain & Co. and Twitter, which included feedback from approximately 650 U.S. marketing executives.

Half of executives surveyed said this “make-or-break period” has gotten shorter over the past five years, which the researchers suggest has made planning and reacting in this narrow window more of a challenge.

Now more than ever, “Listening to potential customers at the outset is essential if marketers want to realize success in the long run,” stated Laura Beaudin, global head of Bain & Co.’s Marketing Excellence practice.

Therefore, “Launches require rigorous planning and a willingness to be flexible, but perhaps most importantly, it’s engaging with the consumer right from the start,” according to Beaudin.

Indeed, three-quarters of executives agreed that a campaign launch’s near-term results are a reliable indicator of long-term success.

Yet, it has never been more difficult for campaigns to break through the clutter, which Bain & Co. and Twitter attribute to “launch saturation” among consumers.

Last year, campaign launches rose an average 27% per company, the researchers found.

Additionally, they calculated that, on average, companies are now spending upwards of $10 million per launch.

If companies want to improve their chances of connecting with consumers, Bain & Co. suggests that they step up their data aggregation and analysis prior to launch, and do their best to understand the nuances of target consumer communities.

Specifically, the researchers found that launch leaders are 2.4 times more likely than other companies to use social listening data to refine their launch strategies, message and offerings.

As a result, these companies were 2.3 times more likely to understand the priorities of their target audience, by Bain & Co.’s measurements.

What the researchers consider to be launch leaders were also 2.3 times more likely to emphasize evoking an emotional response, and twice as likely to assert that audiences viewed their messaging as authentic.