Brand vs. performance marketing: One winning strategy

In today’s ever-evolving marketing landscape, the line between brand marketing and performance marketing has blurred. What once were distinct silos are now merging out of necessity.  

Shrinking budgets and the demand for measurable results have pushed marketers to combine these traditionally separate strategies. The result? Confused marketers, unsure of where to put their time and budgets. 

From what I see with my partners, it’s the ultimate catch-22. Building the brand needs to equate to sales. Yet all sales efforts need to drive stronger brand experiences and perceptions. And the demands of business-minded stakeholders — CEOs and CFOs who expect tangible results from marketing investments — aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

So, how do you merge these two strategies effectively? 

On a tactical level, integrating brand-building and performance marketing means using a diverse range of formats to reach your consumers where they are. The most successful brands I work with excel at cascading their messaging across multiple consumer touchpoints — whether it’s through in-store signage, digital ads, social media posts or email marketing. They ensure that their messaging is not only consistent but also relevant and adaptable to each platform, making the most of every opportunity to engage their audience. 

The key is to ensure that every piece of content you create does double duty: It should build long-term brand equity while also driving short-term, measurable results. For example, an in-store display may reinforce brand values and highlight your unique selling proposition, but it should also encourage immediate action, like a purchase or sign-up. Similarly, a digital ad should not only increase brand awareness but also deliver clear calls to action that lead to conversions. 

First and foremost, building a brand starts with that very first impression — whether it’s a logo, a piece of packaging, or the way a brand’s story is told. These early visuals set the stage for everything that follows. 

Crafting a strong brand means creating strategies that can scale from big ideas down to the nitty-gritty details, like where and how people encounter your brand. It’s important for brand campaigns to show up seamlessly across all the places consumers interact with them — in-store, online, at home, or on their screens. Plus, with the constantly changing consumer landscape, these campaigns need to be flexible enough to adapt to new trends and retailer needs. 

Our team at Betty, a Quad agency, has seen firsthand that a successful branding strategy often involves managing a vast array of content and adaptations to meet the demands of key periods like holidays, drive periods, or product launches. The “secret sauce” for these campaigns is creative consistency — making sure every piece (no matter how small) reflects the overall brand vision and feels consistent, no matter where or when people see it. 

Once you’ve established creative consistency and a holistic omnichannel media plan, the final step in the brand and demand equation is crafting a meaningful attribution strategy. 

My colleague, Todd McNab, developed the “Pick-2 method,” a simple approach to cut through the clutter of endless metrics and focus on what truly matters. Here’s how it works: Make a list of all the ideal outcomes for your campaign, then narrow it down to the two most important ones. These will be the key performance indicators (KPIs) driving and uniting your strategy. 

For brands aiming to merge their performance and brand-building efforts, I recommend choosing one important brand metric and one key performance metric to focus on. For example, you might pick brand awareness and sales lift, or customer advocacy and average order value. Whatever you choose, focus your creative and digital marketing efforts around these two metrics, and watch what happens. 

We don’t have to look far to see examples of this brand and demand integration in action. Take legacy brands like Stanley, which have successfully tapped into younger audiences through social commerce. By leveraging platforms like TikTok to feature user-generated content, Stanley creates excitement and demand for their products even before they’re available in stores.  

Stanley’s online content not only highlights the brand’s aesthetic but also showcases new product lines, deals and offerings. This is a perfect example of how a brand can build loyalty and awareness while simultaneously driving sales. 

Similarly, brands like Empire Today, once primarily known for its local TV ads, have expanded their presence using social formats. Progressive and GEICO have also mastered the art of blending brand-building with demand generation, ensuring their messaging resonates both in the long-term and short-term. These brands understand the importance of measuring success across both brand and performance KPIs, creating a win-win scenario. 

For a deeper dive into integrated creative strategies from the brand perspective, check out our recent ‘Brand vs. Demand’ webinar with eMarketer, featuring Cari Bucci–Hulings and Liz Grabek of Betty, a Quad agency.