Kerning

Spacing between letter pairs A working definition from the RGM marketing glossary.

Schematic — Kerning

Spacing between letter pairs

Term: Kerning
Field: Brand & Content
Category: Marketing

A working definition

Read that twice.Kerning means a marketing concept. The value is in a shared, precise definition, not in knowing the word.

Spacing between letter pairs

Brand and content efforts build long-term equity and demand that performance marketing harvests. They are notoriously hard to measure short-term but increasingly tracked through brand-lift studies, share of search, and MMM.

Kerning is a marketing term for a marketing concept. Agree the scope and two people stop talking past each other.

How it operates

Here is the short version.Kerning works one way for a lean team and another for a large one. The mechanics follow the context.

Kerning behaves unlike a fixed rule. An early-stage brand and a mature one will apply Kerning on different terms. The mechanics follow the inputs around it. Treat Kerning as a buzzword and the reporting misleads; agree on it and the numbers hold.

One rule always holds. Settle the scope of Kerning up front, then build the plan. Get it backwards and Kerning becomes a word everyone uses and no one shares. Start here.

The decisions it touches

One idea, plainly put.Use Kerning when it changes a choice. If it is not driving a decision, it is vocabulary, not leverage.

Bring Kerning in when a live choice hangs on it. In marketing work, that usually means one of three moments. Away from a decision, Kerning is background, not a lever.

Setting budget. Kerning helps decide which channel gets the next dollar.
Choosing a metric. Kerning checks that the figure is not just noise.
Comparing options. Kerning keeps a head-to-head from fooling the reader.

An example with real numbers

Keep this in mind.Below, Kerning is put inside a Mailchimp setting -- real trade-offs, a clear baseline, and a figure to test it.

Look at Mailchimp. In a content-led acquisition push, Kerning drove the decision rather than sitting in a footnote. A baseline came first, then a single agreed meaning of Kerning, then the read: organic signups rose 27% over three quarters.

Example walk-through for Kerning -- figures illustrative, RGM analysis
Stage	The step taken	Why it mattered
Baseline	Logged where Kerning stood before the test.	A fixed point of truth.
Define	Fixed one meaning of Kerning for the test.	A shared definition up front.
Act	A content-led acquisition push — one variable.	One change, a clean read.
Result	Organic signups rose 27% over three quarters	A call backed by the read.

Figures for Kerning here are illustrative and marked RGM analysis. Copy the method, not the exact numbers.

Failure modes to watch

Here is the short version.Most mistakes with Kerning share a root: the term gets reported as if it were exact when it is not.

One-size thinking. Using Kerning flat across every segment. The right cut differs by channel and margin.
Bare numbers. Showing Kerning on its own. Context is what makes it readable.
Vanity focus. Gaming Kerning instead of the result. Tie it to business value.
Apples to oranges. Comparing Kerning across firms raw. Adjust for pricing and cycle before you read it.

Frequently asked questions

How is Kerning defined?

Spacing between letter pairs Agree the scope of Kerning before the planning starts.

Why does Kerning matter for marketers?

Kerning earns its place when it shapes a real decision. The leverage is in correct use, not in the word itself.

How is Kerning used in practice?

Teams put Kerning to work on a spend split, a metric, or a head-to-head call. See the Mailchimp walk-through above.

What goes wrong with Kerning most often?

Treating Kerning as one blanket rule and reporting it with no baseline. Both hide a soft assumption.

How is Kerning defined?: Spacing between letter pairs Agree the scope of Kerning before the planning starts.
Why does Kerning matter for marketers?: Kerning earns its place when it shapes a real decision. The leverage is in correct use, not in the word itself.
How is Kerning used in practice?: Teams put Kerning to work on a spend split, a metric, or a head-to-head call. See the Mailchimp walk-through above.