In the experiential marketing landscape, keeping a tab on your metrics is crucial. But how do you know if your program is on track? Enter a low maintenance, high quality solution; run-rate. Discover how this simple yet powerful metric can help you monitor your program’s progress, predict outcomes, and make strategic adjustments to meet your goals.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Table of Contents
The Predicament: Tracking Program Progress
Setting clear expectations is crucial. Imagine designing a program to distribute 75,000 samples across 25 days. By day three, you’ve distributed 3,500. Are you on pace?
Without a robust tracking mechanism, it’s a guessing game. You can’t be sure you’ll reach your target of 75,000 distributions. This applies to other aspects too.
Let’s say you have 20,000 premiums for a crucial activation over the Summer months. You need to know if you’ll run out before the campaign ends, potentially forcing additional purchases and straining your budget.
The Solution: Tracking Run-Rate
Run-rate acts as a lighthouse in this sea of data. This simple metric provides valuable insights into your program’s trajectory, allowing you to forecast potential shortfalls and successes mid-program using variables that you already know or are actively collecting.
Calculating run-rate requires three key metrics:
- Current Number of Engagements
- Total Number of Event Days
- Number of Days Already Expired
With these four variables and some simple arithmetic you’ll find you understand the program’s trajectory.
Running the Numbers: A Real-World Example
Consider a 10-day program with a goal of distributing 15,000 samples, and by day three, you’ve distributed 3,000 samples. Use the following calculation to measure your run-rate and assess if you need to take action, or allow the program to run its course:
Using the run-rate equation, we find that your average daily distribution is 1,000 samples (3,000 samples divided by three days). We can then multiply this daily average by the total number of event days to predict an estimated distribution of 10,000 samples by the end of the program.
With a target of distributing 15,000 samples, the run-rate reveals a shortfall based on the current pace. This early warning allows you to significantly ramp up your daily distribution and ensure you meet your program goals.
The Run-Rate Advantage for Experiential Marketing
Run-rate empowers you to forecast program progress, predict outcomes, and make strategic adjustments in real-time. Remember, the past is the best predictor of the future. Don’t wait until the end of the program and cross your fingers; take control!
By harnessing run-rate, you can ensure your experiential marketing program stays on course and achieves its strategic goals.
