OVER TO YOU
Design in 3D
Shaping every marketing decision with three-dimensional intention.
Resources to accompany chapter 5 of Make Marketing Matter: Change perceptions. Drive performance. Architect growth.
Definitions in this chapter
design in 3D principle.
A decision-making framework that brings audience attention, business outcomes and growth strategy to everything your marketing ecosystem does.
Chapter snapshot
Design in 3D asks you to bring audience attention, business outcomes, and growth strategy into every marketing decision and boardroom discussion. Marketing can easily default to single-dimension thinking: obsessing over audience and creativity, chasing outcomes that don’t align to strategy, or getting pulled into random acts of marketing that lose sight of the bigger picture.
By designing in 3D, utilising the 3D dashboard and by telling 3D stories marketing decisions can better align to all three dimensions in a way that others can see and understand.
Why Design in 3D matters
Designing in 3D turns marketing from a black box into a visible, accountable contributor to business performance. Investment decisions get easier to justify because “why this,” “why now,” and “why this approach” have clear answers everyone can see.
Measurement that connects audience impact to outcomes and revenue makes marketing’s effectiveness visible to the rest of the business which builds shared accountability rather than marketing having to make its case alone.
Without this principle, the ecosystem drifts toward reacting to whoever’s loudest or most recent, rather than prioritising what’s actually most valuable.
Check In
Before you build anything, take a moment to check where you stand today.
- Can you name your top metrics in each 3D Dashboard quadrant, off the top of your head?
- Does your current reporting read as a completed task list, or does it trace a clear line to Impact, Outcomes, and Revenue?
- When did you last discuss a creative idea and a commercial objective in the same conversation?
Take Action
Pick one decision on your desk right now such as a campaign brief, a budget request, a creative concept. Assess it against all three dimensions: audience attention, business outcomes, growth strategy.
- Are you missing any key measures of success?
- Are you able to articulate why it matters to all three dimensions?
- Are you confident in discussing the rationale behind the project?
Bring it to the room
Next time a campaign or project is given the go-ahead, ask the team:
“How will we know if this worked in audience terms, outcome terms, and growth terms?”
If only one answer comes easily, build a 3D Dashboard and have a discussion about why the metrics matter.
Related reading
Data Storytelling in Marketing by Caroline Florence
I reference Caroline Florence’s book in the chapter because it is a brilliant guide to telling better data stories to gain buy-in from decision makers. The 5R roadmap outlined (relevant, robust, refined, relatable, remarkable) is a practical filter for your internal audience and boardroom colleagues. This book provides a blueprint for utilising marketing’s natural storytelling instincts with robust evidence and credible data.
Kogan Page, 2024.
Back pocket arguments
- McKinsey & Company research found that companies that improve cooperation between CFOs and CMOs can redirect nearly 20% of their marketing budget to more effective, growth- oriented tactics. Read the article >
- Harvard Business Review reported that businesses that put marketing at the core of their growth strategy are twice as likely to see revenue growth of 5% or more than those that don’t. Read the article >
- Forrester found that businesses with mature marketing measurement systems – such as measures of marketing value, outcome metrics and leading indicators – were 14 percentage points more likely to have experienced at least 15% revenue growth. Read the article >
Get the full picture
This page includes additional resources to support Chapter 5: Design in 3D in the book Make Marketing Matter.
The chapter walks through building your full 3D Dashboard, and running 3D discussions and decisions. Make Marketing Matter is a comprehensive guide for marketing leaders and boardroom colleagues who want to build a marketing ecosystem that shows impact, links to outcomes, and leads to recognizable revenue.
30
Definitions
Clear, precise language that gives you a shared vocabulary for your ecosystem approach.
40
Practical Exercises
Consistent, repeatable actions that bring the ecosystem approach to life.
Pre-order Make Marketing Matter
Make Marketing Matter: Change perceptions. Drive performance. Architect growth. is out on 20th October 2026.
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