Ban the Binary: Why Brand and Demand Must Be Built Together

Weamp8217ve built an entire operating system around this divide Brand is longterm strategic and amp8220softamp8221 Demand is shortterm tactical and measurable Brand builds awareness Demand drives conversion One is topoffunnel The other is bottomoffunnelBrand gets the awards Demand gets the budgetExcept it doesnamp8217t really work that way anymore if it ever didIn truth separating brand and demand may be one of the costliest habits in modern marketing Itamp8217s not just a structural issue itamp8217s a logic problem And itamp8217s showing up in flatlining returns rising acquisition costs and campaigns that feel like theyamp8217re working harder for diminishing resultsWe need a reset Not just in language but in our overall thinkingItamp8217s time to stop asking which matters moreThe real question is How do we build them together by design not defaultBrand Is Demand CreationOne of the great marketing myths is that brand is about awareness Visibility Being seenBut the truth is brand is about being remembered Brand builds memory structures so that when a person is ready to make a purchase decision your name comes to mind first Itamp8217s about mental availability distinctiveness trust Itamp8217s what lets a customer choose you over the cheaper faster louder alternativeItamp8217s also what gives you pricing power customer preference loyalty and marginAnd when brand is working properly it doesnamp8217t just drive awareness it drives growthPerformance by contrast is a precision tool It turns attention into action It converts interest into clicks carts and purchases But it can only do that if interest already exists And when we stop investing in brand we slowly erode the very pool that performance marketing depends onThis Isnamp8217t Opinion Itamp8217s DataMultiple studies including amp8220The Multiplier Effectamp8221 by WARC Analytic Partners Prophet BERAai and System1 have validated what many of us have felt intuitively brand and performance work better togetherWhen integrated the results are exponential as noted in the reportCampaigns are 57 more effective than those driven by performance alone A Prophet survey found that 90 percent amp8220of businesses that outperform their competition stated they had either fully or mostly integrated their brand and performance advertisingamp8221Median return on revenue improves by 90 percentCustomer acquisition costs drop Loyalty risesAnd perhaps most importantly marketing becomes a compound asset not a oneoff expenseThese arenamp8217t just marketing metrics theyamp8217re business metricsWeamp8217ve Seen the Shift in PracticeIf youamp8217re looking for proof in action look no further than Airbnb In 2021 they made a bold move reducing their reliance on performance marketing and reinvesting in brand storytellingThey didnamp8217t just survive They grewThe company saw an increase in direct traffic a reduction in media spend and a renewed understanding that when the brand does the heavy lifting performance becomes more efficient amp8211 not less importantTheir CEO Brian Chesky put it perfectly as noted in The Multiplier Effect reportamp8220Performance marketing is a laser Brand marketing is the chandelieramp8221This is exactly it One highlights while the other illuminates Only together do they light the roomOr consider a B2B example Global analytic software provider SAS hit a performance wall with its demandfirst campaign efforts which alone couldnamp8217t solve for awareness and perception They launched a multimillion LinkedIn campaign aimed at creating both future demand for the 95 of prospects unlikely to be in the market at any given moment and lifting inmarket demand conversion efforts With an optimized reach frequency media strategy SAS reached 9MM more LinkedIn members representing a 200 increase in category audience reach Brand lift rose by double digits organic search increased by triple digits and lead gen form completions went up between 7 and 79 depending on offer and exposure recencySo What Needs to ChangeThis isnamp8217t about choosing sides Itamp8217s about fixing the system Because the structure weamp8217ve built around this false divide is the real barrierToo often this results inBrand and demand sit on different teamsTheyamp8217re briefed separately evaluated on different timelines and judged against incompatible KPIsCreative meant to inspire lives in one world while creative meant to convert lives in anotherThe result Disjointed experiences for customers missed efficiencies for marketers and underwhelming outcomes for businessesItamp8217s not enough to talk about integration We have to design for itThat means creatingShared goals across brand and demand teamsUnified briefs that demand both emotional resonance and commercial resultsCrossfunctional planning that puts the customer journey not the org chart at the centerAnd measurement models that account for both shortterm impact and longterm equityBecause when brand and performance operate as one system the effect isnamp8217t just better marketing Itamp8217s better businessBrand x Demand GrowthAt the ANA we believe the future of marketing isnamp8217t brand or performance Itamp8217s brand x performance a multiplier mindset that recognizes the interdependence of storytelling and sellingOne without the other is incompleteBut together They compoundWeamp8217ll be exploring this topic across our brand practice through new thought leadership events and resources aimed at helping marketers build more integrated effective strategiesThe debate is overThe opportunity lies in the integrationPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

Ban the Binary: Why Brand and Demand Must Be Built Together

Author

Publish date

Channel

Stephanie Fierman

The Ad Council, Huntsman Mental Health Foundation and Amazon Announce “The Mind Set” to Support Mental Health - Ad Council InSites

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

Ban the Binary: Why Brand and Demand Must Be Built Together

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Stephanie Fierman

TAGS:

The Ad Council, Huntsman Mental Health Foundation and Amazon Announce “The Mind Set” to Support Mental Health - Ad Council InSites

The payment was successful

Cookies