Advanced Certificate in Effectiveness (Eff Test)

35 hours of online learning (including video interviews, e-lessons, and background reading). 

To gain the official qualification there is an online examination. It’s made up of two sections: a multiple choice and a free form of 12 questions that require 2-3 paragraphs each. A certificate of completion is awarded to all delegates who successfully pass the exam.

The qualification identifies how to design a measurement programme that fully evaluates communications strategies and how to rigorously evaluate the impact of that campaign, avoiding the pitfalls of misinterpretation.

INTERMEDIATE / ADVANCED LEVEL, 4-8 years experience
The qualification is suitable for anyone involved in the evaluation and development of effective creative work (across all disciplines) – be it agency or client side. Its ‘sweet spot’ is mid-level planners with at least four years’ experience from all agency types.

The qualification covers a broad range of subjects including definitions of effectiveness, evaluation and accountability; why businesses should invest in it, how it has developed over time, who has a stake in evaluation and current debates around the topic. It also considers the broad principles behind different types of objectives that can be set. The content is spread across a number of different ‘learning paths’: 

• Introduction to effectiveness testing
  This learning path introduces effectiveness testing and why it is so important – for both agency and client. It also includes empirical evidence of some of the key drivers of effective communications.
• Planning for effectiveness
  Reviews the key principles of evaluation and setting objectives. We highlight some of the pros and cons of benchmarking and identify the many levels of measurement that must be considered.
• Input measures
  This section reviews the many different input measures (and sources) that need to be examined.
• Output measures: Awareness and attitudes
  This learning path focuses on the key measures, and their pitfalls, involved in awareness, comprehension and brand image. It also introduces some challenging thinking such as Heath’s unconscious processing.
• Output measures: Behavioural
  Moving from Reach, through Engagement, we get to Outcome. Here, we’ll look at what behavioural impact a campaign has – i.e. what has it actually made people do?
• Output measures: Business
  The end benefit of almost all campaigns is some business effect. This chapter explores the various business measures most commonly used (and their relative strengths and weaknesses).
• Isolating your activity: Non-econometric
  This chapter explores the fundamentals of analysis where the budgets/time of econometrics are not available. The section highlights the common miss-assumptions made in analysis. 
• Isolating your activity: Econometrics
  Since Econometrics is the ‘Holy Grail’ of evaluation, a lot of time is dedicated to exploring what makes for good (and poor) econometrics. Here we discuss its applicability.
• Payback and ROMI
  This section explores how to calculate both payback and ROMI, and discusses the relative merits and drawbacks of each.
• Evaluating DM and CRM activity
  Here we evaluate certain specific types of media choices. This learning path examines evaluation techniques across Direct Marketing and Customer Relationship Marketing activity.
• Evaluating digital
  Here we explore the specific ways to evaluate campaigns across the broad church of digital. Some of the current debates around digital are also discussed such as offline/online, adblocking, mobile metrics, last click attribution and the myth and illusion of digital data.
• Evaluating promotional activity
  This chapter looks at the multiple ways that promotions are used (from tactical through to strategic) and how best to measure.
• Evaluating PR and sponsorship
  In this learning path the key methodologies used are explored (as well as raising the issues attached to some of these methods).
• Evaluating public sector campaigns
  This final section reviews how best to evaluate the impact of social cause campaigns (often more in terms of longer-term behavioural shifts and potential cost savings upon the public purse).

Why planners are going ‘back to basics’ in the digital era by Kate Smither
The ‘unhealthy obsession’ distracting strategic planners by Anuj Mehra
How the evolution of planning is affecting strategy by Lily Tidy
Do today’s strategic planners need to shift focus? QLD planners weigh in by Amanda Windus, Justin Cloete & Mike Redfern