This is a marketing book unlike any other marketing book. It is really written for financial officers. In fact, at one point, author Tim Ambler actually recommends turning responsibility for marketing metrics over to the finance department. That emphasis on a hard-nosed, bottom line orientation is novel and refreshing. Ambler recognizes that one of the biggest problems marketers inflict on themselves is their failure to establish and demonstrate that money spent on marketing really does matter to the financial performance of a business. With comprehensive attention to detail, he is careful to present most of the current thinking on how to measure the value of investments in marketing. Unfortunately, his style is dense, so much of what he says may take non-experts several readings to clarify.We are grateful that his helpful executive summary goes some way toward mitigating this problem and highly recommends his comprehensive and informative material - however, an editor as ruthless as a CFO might benefit the book's own bottom line.

This is a terrific book that helps quantify the value of marketing in a company's overall operations. Finance and accounting have long enjoyed attention because of the quantifiable nature of the data provided; Ambler gives us a start on the same level of verifiability in the marketing realm.

Bravo! This is a well-written and informative book that provides the tools to measure marketing effectiveness and hold marketers accountable. Ambler provides diagnostic questions, real company examples and implementation plans, which help the reader translate theory into practice. It is this focus on practical implementation that I found particularly valuable and makes this book stand out from the other business texts. In addition, Ambler's style is to simplify and clarify a lot of the marketing jargon which makes it relevant to a broad base of readers while still remaining substantial enough to the most skilled marketers. A must-read for board members, management and marketers.