Establishing brand value: run a marathon, not a sprint

Campaign ME

5 days ago

New trends and technologies are constantly reshaping the marketing landscape. What worked yesterday might be obsolete tomorrow. One thing's crystal clear: the blending of performance marketing and brand-building is the core conversation for modern marketers.
This isn't just about hitting targets; it's about creating lasting and meaningful connections. Considering how rapidly tech evolves, how consumer behaviour shifts and how complex the market has become, the key challenges and opportunities lie in maximising impact through strategic alignment.
Clearly defining objectives is a crucial first step. While priorities may vary across departments, sales for some, memorability or engagement for others, they must align with key business objectives. These objectives often include revenue growth, enhanced credibility and sustained customer loyalty. As marketers, it is essential to maintain a clear focus on these core business goals.
AI and machine learning? They're not just buzzwords any more. They're the engines driving performance marketing, allowing us to get hyper-personal and data-smart with our communications. Consumers crave tailored experiences, demanding a deeper understanding than ever before. Customer experience is vital: happy customers are loyal customers.
With the surge of new channels, maintaining brand consistency without sounding repetitive becomes increasingly challenging. The solution lies in contextual advertising. Moving beyond broad, uniform messaging, brands must adopt personalisation.
Clean rooms, retail data and second-party data empower us to create personalised, one-to-one communications. This contextual relevance must be leveraged across both branding and performance initiatives.
Let's be real: when it comes to performance marketing, serious obstacles remain. Navigating the data privacy minefield, with regulations like GDPR, is complex. We must be ethical, build trust and still deliver personalised experiences, a challenging balance.
The attribution labyrinth persists. Untangling models to accurately identify effective channels feels like deciphering a bowl of spaghetti. The customer journey is very fragmented, making accurate conversion attribution a big headache.
Given this complexity, multi-touch attribution models are essential to provide a holistic view. Furthermore, establishing a real-time measurement framework is fundamental, enabling agile optimisation.
Ad fraud remains a constant threat, wasting valuable marketing spend. Brand safety is also important; specific ad technology is needed to keep our ads away from harmful content and fraudulent activity. The constantly evolving ad technology landscape presents another challenge: continuous learning and experimentation, which are vital to maintaining a competitive edge.
Proving ROI is crucial; reach and likes are insufficient. We must prove that marketing efforts are driving tangible business outcomes. Other teams, focused on long-term value creation, require a clear understanding of marketing's potential. To bridge this gap, we need a framework encompassing both performance and branding, incorporating a mix of actionable and vanity metrics. Success, therefore, can no longer be defined by a single metric but by a comprehensive set of indicators derived from incrementality studies, marketing mix modeling (MMM), brand lift studies and other rigorous analyses.
Moreover, modern branding isn't about being the loudest voice in the room; it's about building genuine relationships with your audience. A common mistake brands make is focusing heavily on performance marketing because the results are immediately visible.
However, a sustainable strategy requires a balance between branding and performance marketing. Without a strong brand foundation, performance and sales will inevitably suffer. Think of it this way: performance marketing is the engine, but branding is the fuel.
Authenticity is non-negotiable; consumers can easily identify a lack of credibility. Brands should be genuine and transparent to earn their trust. We also need to focus on creating experiences, not just pushing products.
This means thinking about emotional connections, not just sales pitches.
Building your tribe is also key; online communities are goldmines because they promote a sense of belonging, provide invaluable feedback and turn customers into brand advocates.
Finally, brands should remember to adopt a long-term vision; it's tempting to chase quick wins, but we need to balance that with building long-term brand value. Imagine running a marathon, not a sprint.
At the end of the day, the most successful marketing strategies will be those that seamlessly integrate performance marketing and brand building efforts. It requires cross-functional collaboration between all marketing teams, with a shared understanding of the overall marketing goals.
Data and analytics must inform both performance marketing and brand building decisions, providing insights into customer behaviour and brand perception. By aligning these two, marketers can create a cohesive marketing strategy that drives both short-term results and long-term brand value.
In an ever-changing media landscape, the challenges and priorities in performance marketing and brand building are becoming increasingly clear.
Marketers must navigate complex data privacy regulations, embrace new technologies and focus on building authentic brands that resonate with consumers.
By integrating performance marketing and brand building efforts, marketers can create a powerful marketing strategy that drives both short-term results and long-term brand value.
By Claudia Raya–Garcia, Media Manager – Digital and Offline – MEIAT region, DIOR.