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.

Interested in how we help our partners strike this balance?

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