It is rare to see something great be created all at once and left on its own to thrive. Perhaps a painting, as once it’s hung, we shouldn’t touch it – unless you’re a daVinci type and plan to pick away at a project over several decades, always searching for perfection. As marketers, we do not have the luxury of time to create great work. It’s of critical importance to be flexible with a strategy and a media plan that goes to market, so we’re able to assess quickly whether it’s working –and make changes to improve performance as the cultural landscape shifts around us and the brands we represent. This capability is what makes the work great. If we are called to be flexible in the execution arena, the measurement approach has to be nimble and stay up to date alongside it.

Judging September’s campaign by January’s goals may not make sense (hint: this year, it really, really does not). Anytime there are changes to the environment you used to estimate performance, set benchmarks, and create goals for a project or campaign, those numbers should be adjusted to reflect those changes. Approaching this conversation with a client takes transparency, as they may have communicated previous plans within their organization. Arm them with the updated information so they can speak on the changes to their peers in a way they are comfortable with. In this way, both client and marketer will have ownership and understanding around their media dollar usage, and what value they drive. Trust in that relationship will continue to build, and the result will be great work.