Advertising Accountability - An Oxymoron?

Anyone who has studied advertising has heard, "I know half of my advertising is wasted, but I don't know which half." Ah, the days before online metrics.

Per Adweek, manufacturers are shifting more of their budgets online. The obvious reason is media habits shifting online. But what's more important is accountability.

Web site traffic lead conversions can be measured. What's still difficult, however, to measure is awareness. Advertising is both and art and a science. Science is becoming a bigger player, but it will never take over completely. There will always be a degree of unpredictability. That's what makes it fun.

I will never forget when someone cold-called me about buying signage at the local airport. Since I worked for a local retail automobile dealer group, I pointed out that half of the people seeing the ads don't live in the market, as they're traveling to town from somewhere else. They would not be likely to buy a car here. The salesperson pointed out the axiom about 50% of advertising is wasted and I would at least know which half was wasted.