October 04, 2010

SciMark Report from September Response

Last month's SciMark Report in print is now available on the Response Website. Reviews include: MicroTouch Max, Hex Light and the Just Air Backpak.

Before everyone bombards me with emails about how I've suddenly gone ultra-negative, please note I've changed the star rating system to reflect more accurately my opinion of a campaign's odds of success.

The old rating system gave a number of stars based on how many of the SciMark Seven criteria were met. However, as I explain in the intro to my September column, one signficant weakness can make an entire campaign unlikely to succeed. For instance, we know the odds of success go way down if the product doesn't solve a problem. That shortcoming can doom an otherwise brilliant campaign to failure.

The new star rating reflects these nuances. Four stars is "likely to succeed," two stars is "unlikely to succeed" and so on. I even have the possibility of a wishy-washy three stars, which I will probably use when I like the marketer and the producer but hate the strategy or product.

As always, I welcome your feedback.