We all know about ROI (return on investment) – and as a content marketing company, the ROI of, say, an ad, or an expensive multimedia ad campaign is dependent not just on numbers, but predefined goals. Lately, we’ve been hearing about ROE, or return on engagement. This new metric is borne out of social media but goes beyond “likes” or “followers” – it’s about what you do with this new level of engagement. It demands that you break out the data points and learn things from the behaviour of those interacting with your media. So it’s not just about pure numbers but interpreting what those numbers mean and then doing something smart with that learning.

And now, we think there should be a new metric: ROH – return on hope. Because at the end of the day, not all metrics are measureable, no matter how granular you get in the planning. What is the return on a sponsorship? What do you wish to achieve with it? ROH seems like the most long term tool, preceding ROE (which is long to mid-term) and ROI (which is, ultimately, short term). ROH has a nice ring to it. And may be the most realistic sounding“ return” anyone in the marketing game can aspire to.

Just don’t tell your clients. They, after all, want results.