How to Balance Brand and Performance Campaigns

Data-driven decision-making is on the rise. Organisations have been shifting media budgets towards ‘easy-to-quantify’ performance campaigns, resulting in greater awareness of ROI and campaign effectiveness. However, this focus also presents a growing challenge for marketing teams: quantifying the long-term impact of brand-building on overall sales and balancing branding with performance efforts.

This challenge has given rise to a counter-trend. Many organisations are now concentrating on the impact of a long-term strategy that integrates branding and performance to deliver optimal results over time.

A strong brand makes it easier to achieve performance goals, as brand strength translates into increased sales and traffic. Building a robust brand is, therefore, crucial for achieving sustainable performance objectives.

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Tips for a Data-Driven Approach

Taking a data-driven perspective suggests a long-term relationship between brand and performance KPIs. To measure branding’s enduring effect on sales, you need a well-defined, long-term investment strategy that balances media spending between branding and performance campaigns. Here are a few tips for maintaining this balance:

• Brand campaigns may show short-term results but should primarily be evaluated on long-term (baseline) sales growth, as their immediate impact tends to be lower than that of performance campaigns.
• A strong brand not only facilitates sales but also enhances the efficiency of performance campaigns.
• Use a mix of campaigns and channels that support each other. A classic example is using television to drive search activity.
• Divide marketing budgets to create a balance between long-term brand growth and short-term performance KPIs. Invest in brand-building to reach new levels of performance.

Combining branding and performance supports both a holistic view and the synchronisation of short-term and long-term results. This integrated approach fosters synergy through increased organisational clarity and provides practical tools for informed media investment and strategy decisions.