Brand Marketing or Performance Marketing? Yes!

As an advertiser you may feel you have a binary choice – “performance marketing,” which is completely measurable or “brand marketing,” which is…well, not so measurable.

Don’t fall into that trap.

Here’s what happens: A company has highly targeted campaigns in digital media that can be tracked. Over time, thanks to all that data, the targeting gets finer and finer, leading to fantastic ROIs. Everyone loves seeing the efficiency (especially the CFO).

But here’s the catch: At some point you’ve blown through the best targets and you need to generate more people who are interested. The only way to do that is through “higher funnel” tactics – like “brand marketing.”

“Brand marketing” is not just an investment in the future. It needs to be in the mix today to grow the market for your product or service. Most importantly, it can create preference for your company and differentiate you from your competitors.

Think of it as a loop. The “brand marketing” creates the interest and the “performance marketing” closes the sale. The key is to move those levers to find the optimal mix – this is what successful digital businesses are doing today.

Consider this headline from the Wall Street Journal, “Airbnb Says Its Focus on Brand Marketing Instead of Search Is Working.”

That’s right, a 100% digital company praising brand marketing. They’re using more – wait for it – traditional media like TV ads. And they’ve reduced their total ad spend by almost 30% while getting better ROI’s. Airbnb has cracked the code and found the right mix.

An example of Airbnb’s recent brand marketing TV creative

Another example is Madison Reed, a direct-to-consumer seller of hair dye. The company spends up to 25% of its budget on radio and podcasts. Yes, a visual product using a non-visual medium.

Why is it working? Because the company needs to tell its story, and radio and podcasts are the most efficient mediums to reach their audience most effectively. By using unique phone numbers, promo codes and URLs their branding ads can still be tracked. The 25% spend results in almost half of their sales. Talk about mixing up funnels!

If you’re struggling with finding the right balance, you’re not alone. MGH is here to help you find your company’s magic marketing mix.