• by kyle , Daisy Whitney , August 23, 2006

Late last year, Philips Norelco conducted its first cross-media marketing mix study, an approximately $400,000 endeavor to gauge the effectiveness of various marketing channels  online, TV, radio, print, and outdoor. The investment is already paying dividends. The shaving giant tweaked the fourth quarter campaign as the study results poured in, and contends that the fine-tuning played a big role in that quarter's 8-percent point jump in market share, compared to the same period in 2004.

"We now have a much keener perspective on how to spend our money more effectively," says John Carter, business intelligence manager for Philips DAP, the parent company of Philips Norelco.

Carter declines to share the specific findings of the study for competitive reasons, but says the overall conclusion is that it's never too late to tweak a campaign. The results from the study will also be applied to Norelco's 2006 fourth quarter campaign. "What we were able to quantify was that if you just adjust your messaging at the right time, you can get substantial gain," he says.

Cross-media studies are more effective for products in innovative categories impacted by technology, because the findings are more immediate than traditional studies that can take place over three years, Carter adds.