the romi concept first came to prominence in the 1990s. the phrase "return on marketing investment" became more widespread in the next decade following the publication of two books "return on marketing investment" by guy powell (2002) and "marketing roi" by james lenskold (2003). in the book "what sticks: why advertising fails and how to guarantee yours succeeds," rex briggs suggested the term "romo" for return-on-marketing-objective, to reflect the idea that marketing campaigns may have a range of objectives, where the return is not immediate sales or profits. for example, a marketing campaign may aim to change the perception of a brand.