DBD International has released a video about what they think ROI is about: a return on ingenuity. This reinterpretation of what ROI means is not new to DBD International, though it hasn’t been so crisply presented before. For example, a return on ideas is about how an organisation can become more efficient, effective and value-adding, and previously, an ROR, or return on relationship, was also popularly suggested by Ted Rubin. Such reinterpretations are on the rise, as marketers try to justify the cost of marketing or brand/ad exercises against modest returns, particularly in the short run.
David Brier of DBD narrates the video. Key points:
“The power of ideas: They can make us smile. They can make us cry. They can inspire action. They can conquer defeat. They can launch a movement … or stop us in our tracks […] Their only power lies in us. As branders, we live to usher in the future, not stroke the past. While it might ruffle some feathers, it often can advance culture. […] This ingenuity is what separates the remarkable from the commodity, or the disruptor from the also-ran. […] Neither success nor failure is permanent; they are themselves fleeting and transient. It’s because the biggest mistake occurs when we stop at either of these points.”