Introducing the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) and its Common-Language Marketing Dictionary: Background, Description, Vision, and Prospects

For the benefit of marketing's worldwide academic community, not least this journal's high-end readership, a relatively new, specialized, marketing-focused organization of ascending impact merits formal introduction. The Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB), founded only in 2007, is a group of marketing academics, financial professionals, other business executives, and professional association representatives organized for and committed to improving the financial accountability of the corporate marketing function through enhanced performance measurement. That informational notice is one purpose of this communication. Then, the report segment per se outlines MASB's current initiatives in furtherance of the accountability aim, with special emphasis on one that may first appear a lesser function: creation of an official, authoritative marketing language dictionary. The endeavor's justification is that a common language as embodied in a good dictionary would benefit marketing theory and practice through improved communication, thereby enabling better accountability. Yet the ultimate reach of such a language resource should transcend any impact on financial accountability.

Marketing accountability and marketing automation: evidence from Portugal

PurposeThe present study seeks to outline the role of marketing automation (MA) in measuring the return on marketing activities and the challenges associated with reaching accountability in marketing.Design/methodology/approachTo investigate the objective of the study, the authors adopted a qualitative approach, conducting an exploratory study among ten key informants located in Portugal.FindingsBased on the results of the qualitative analysis, a conceptual framework is proposed, which includes both strategic- and operational-level factors with the goal of creating a value-based agenda. In this agenda, executives such as the Chief Marketing Officer emerge as value creators, fostering business scalability, and further arguments are provided to justify budget allocation to MA activities.Originality/valueThrough careful research of the elements that characterize the phenomenon under study, the present paper ultimately contributes to a better understanding of MA and accountability within the current business paradigm.

Brand value in times of crisis

There is great pressure to improve Marketing accountability as well as its integration with the financial area in order to create shareholder value. In this sense, a research was carried out to evaluate the relationship between the value of the main global brands, revenue, profit margin and market capitalization of companies in the period from 2007 to 2016, with emphasis on the effect of the crisis and after the American crisis and global of 2008. The analysis was centered on the comparison of the indicators of a group composed of the companies holding the strongest brands in the world with a group of the world's largest companies in the concept of S & P 500, excluding the holders of the strongest brands in the first group. Among other points, the survey found that companies that have stronger brands, based on market value, have a net profit margin of 9.8% in the 10-year period, 42% higher than the 6.9% margin of largest companies in the world. The results also suggest that in the moment of external crisis the strong brands allow a relatively greater shielding of this margin.

Are marketing strategies correlated with financial outputs? A longitudinal study

Purpose The relevance of marketing to explain financial success has been seldom investigated. In this scene, the purpose of this study is to analyze whether the correlations between four marketing strategies and seven financial measures has increased (or not) over time. Design/methodology/approach To reach these objectives, secondary information about 500 companies operating in the USA was analyzed. This information was listed on the US Standard & Poor’s 500-company index (SPX Charts, 2019). Data were collected for eight different periods of time (from year 2009 to year 2016) and for 11 different industries. Multiple regression analysis and ANOVA tests were used. Findings First, two marketing investment decisions out of four (brand value and price) have displayed a significant and incremental change over time. The other marketing investment decisions (brand rank, communication and service) have not increased their importance with time. Second, in two investment decisions (brand value and price), correlations found with financial measures have strengthened over time. Research limitations/implications This study was conducted on large US public companies. Studying other sectors within the USA such as small capitalization firms or privately owned firms can lead to future discoveries, while looking at similar companies in different countries, could provide compare and contrast opportunities. Second, no qualitative data were obtained in this study, leaving potential for gaps in knowledge that could be remedied by qualitative analysis. Third, given that all marketing investment was considered of equal value in the present paper, future research could be done to avoid this limitation. Practical implications From a practical approach, the authors want to eliminate the dissonance between marketing and accounts as far as the lack of “marketing accountability” (Webster et al., 2003, p. 27) has lead marketing to “lost its seat at the table” (Kumar and Shah, 2009, p 119). That is, they want to call the attention to the relevance of investing in diverse marketing tools at the same time from an accounting approach, showing how these tools can be used to improve financial results. Kumar (2015) explains how, as companies strive to cut costs, meet annual revenue targets and maximize efficiency, less attention is being placed on the importance of forward-looking marketing strategies. The authors would like to show how favorable financial results are linked to diverse marketing investments. As Arslanagic-Kalajdzic et al. (2018) have underlined, there is a need for building, improving and sustaining marketing accountability within the firm and its relevance for value. Originality/value From an academic approach, the added value is to adopt a longitudinal perspective to analyze the evolution of marketing investment over time and its interesting results, given that, until now, most of the studies have focused on a specific period (Anderson et al., 2004; Fornell et al., 2006). Previous works have scarcely noticed that by better understanding how marketing investments impact regularly used financial variables, stakeholders can better assess the inner workings of a company (Ambler et al., 2001). Bridging this academic gap from a longitudinal perspective will enable marketing workers and accounting workers to act cohesively to cultivate successful companies.

The unobserved signaling ability of marketing accountability: can suppliers’ marketing accountability enhance business customers’ value perceptions?

PurposeMarketing accountability is currently receiving increased attention from scholars and practitioners alike, with its usage mostly being linked to the improved position of marketing within the firm and to better firm performance. The purpose of this study is to assess whether a supplier’s marketing accountability also has an unobserved signaling effect on customer perceived value.Design/methodology/approachBased on a survey of advertising agency-client dyads, the authors develop and test a multilevel model that assesses the relationship between the supplier’s marketing accountability and perceived value of the client.FindingsEmpirical results indicate that marketing accountability of the agency is positively related to client-firm perceived value, that is marketing accountability also has a positive signaling effect on customers’ value perceptions.Originality/valueThis study provides novel insights on how perceptions of customer value are created in business relationships. More specifically, it highlights that marketing accountability of a supplier positively contributes to shaping clients’ value perceptions. Implications for marketing theory and practice, focused on the need for building, improving and sustaining marketing accountability within the firm and its relevance for value, are discussed and future research directions are identified.

Marketing accountability e excelência na escola pública portuguesa: A construção da imagem social da escola através da performatividade académica

The authors seek to establish a relationship between the results of standardised tests, the academic excellence and the corresponding form of accountability. This relationship adopts the idea that standardised tests and academic excellence sustain not only a model of managerial accountability, but a (quasi) market model of accountability in education as well, providing school marketing schemes. This study is supported by a long-term fieldwork developed in several Portuguese state schools, where we analysed main documents, observed the public rituals of academic distinction, interviewed the principals and teachers and surveyed students. The results show us that these public rituals are part of a marketing strategy that helps to build a good school image, essential to induce the school choice by families and to reinforce the decisions of the principal’s leadership.