Optimizing resource allocation between brand and performance marketing is crucial for driving value and building consumer relationships.
The pandemic highlighted the importance of brand equity and the integration between brand and performance marketing in achieving revenue and ROI objectives.
Brand builders face challenges in engaging in social activism while avoiding pitfalls, bridging the gap between non-digital natives and digital natives, and treating brand equity as a corporate asset.
Deep dives
Importance of Content Strategy and Deloitte Digital's Solutions
Content strategy is a hot topic that addresses the challenges marketers face when it comes to scaling content. Deloitte Digital offers efficient and sustainable solutions to help create, deliver, and analyze content at scale without hiring additional resources. Their integrated solutions streamline workflows and enable the creation of relevant and targeted communications, ultimately improving business outcomes.
The Focus on Sustainability and Brands' Commitment
Sustainability continues to be a focus for brands, as consumers stress the importance of a brand's commitment to sustainability. Deloitte's 2023 Global Marketing Trends Report reveals that while organizations recognize the significance of their own sustainability efforts, only 25% of brands surveyed prioritize urging consumers to take action. Brands are now realizing that by focusing on their own sustainability, they can have a positive impact on the planet and their business.
Brand Building and Performance Marketing Working Together
The podcast episode explores how brand building and performance marketing can work together. They define brand marketing as activating the desired brand positioning with target audiences, while performance marketing focuses on driving quantifiable responses. The key takeaway is that optimizing the resource allocation between brand and performance marketing is crucial, with factors like consumer relationships, brand metrics validation, and the generation of value for consumers needing further research.
The Importance of Brand in Times of Uncertainty
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a question about whether branding was still relevant in a global marketplace where everything is commoditized and price transparency is prevalent. However, the pandemic highlighted the power of brand, showing that strong brands have a sense of safety and gravitas, even in times of turmoil. The pandemic also accelerated the digital dependence of consumers, making it imperative for brands to navigate both the brand-building and digital realms. Brand equity can change rapidly, impacting a company's revenues and shareholder value. The integration of brand and performance marketing is crucial, as they both aim to achieve revenue, value, and ROI objectives. Lastly, many companies lack the measurement tools needed to effectively balance brand and performance marketing.
Challenges and Advice for Brand Builders
One of the challenges for brand builders in the next three to five years is the pressure to engage in social activism, while also avoiding potential pitfalls. The distinction between brand purpose and social activism needs to be clear, as brand actions can have significant consequences. Another challenge is the digitization of brand building processes, which requires bridging the gap between non-digital natives and digital natives. This involves integrating marketing data and considering the interconnectedness of different aspects of brand collateral. As for advice, it is important for companies to understand the data they collect, connect different data points, and have conversations about their brand strategies. Additionally, recognizing the importance of consumer value and considering the long-term impact of brand-building efforts can lead to better accountability. Lastly, treating brand equity as a corporate asset and involving the CMO as an enterprise leader is crucial for addressing tensions and breaking down silos.
Today’s episode is about one of the most difficult questions facing marketers today–how can brand building and performance marketing work better together? In the recently released May/June issue of the one-and-only Harvard Business Review, Jim collaborated with two other authors to write an article about how to maximize both brand and performance marketing.
For this week's episode, Jim is joined by his co-authors of the Harvard Business Review story, Professor Cait Lamberton from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and Ken Favaro, the former CEO of Marakon Associates and currently the Chief Strategy Officer at BERA brand management.
Join Jim, Cait and Ken as they break down lessons learned from the article, their experiences working together, and what new questions they have now that the 11-page article has been published. Plus, tune in for advice from Ken and Cait on how listeners can work toward having their own writing published in the Harvard Business Review.
