It’s Not Brand Vs. Performance, It’s Brand and Performance

Many businesses focus solely on performance, often at the expense of their identity. This results in poor rankings and extensive briefs going to agencies to help rebuild their awareness and brand voice.

Brand and performance intersection is the sweet spot of marketing, balancing both building a brand and driving conversion.

The role of brand marketing is to build your customer’s identity and to market them in a way that makes them feel understood. It is about creating the long-term awareness and loyalty that drives conversion — the storytelling.

Performance is about driving measurable action and results.

But without a cohesive brand identity, the message can get lost. 

Brand storytelling lays the groundwork, while performance builds on it for repeat success.

Listen to the experts at Flaunt Digital, as we share why balancing brand and performance marketing is the best choice for your business. Within the below Resting Pitch Face podcast episode and in this blog, we’ll cover what exactly brand and performance marketing is and the best way to integrate them both into your business marketing strategy.

Brand marketing is the magic of storytelling, weaving a narrative that resonates deeply with your audience. It’s about creating an identity, nurturing trust, and forging connections that transcend mere transactions. 

This long-term investment in your brand’s image and values lays the foundation for a loyal customer base and sustainable growth. It’s more than marketing; it’s building a captivating journey that turns customers into lifelong fans, driving enduring success.

Performance marketing zeroes in on specific targets with measurable outcomes. It’s the science of turning interest into action, focusing on conversions, leads, and sales through data-driven tactics. Like a well-oiled machine, performance marketing drives short-term goals and ROI, making campaigns responsive and ensuring they produce tangible results quickly.

The main difference between brand and performance marketing is their objectives and measurement of success. Brand marketing and performance marketing differ primarily in focus and measurement.

Its success is gauged by intangible metrics like brand recall and customer perception. 

In contrast, performance marketing is data-driven, seeking immediate, measurable results such as clicks, conversions, and sales. Campaigns are optimised based on key performance indicators (KPIs), and adjustments are made in real time to achieve specific goals.

The most effective marketing strategies understand that brand and performance marketing are not rivals but allies in building a successful business. 

Here’s why:

• Foundation and Growth: Brand marketing lays the foundation of your company’s identity and values, which performance marketing can leverage to drive growth through targeted actions.
• Emotional and Logical Appeal: While brand marketing appeals to the emotions and values of your audience, performance marketing appeals to its logical, action-oriented side. Together, they create a more compelling proposition.
• Long-term Vision with Short-term Goals: Integrating both allows you to maintain a long-term vision for your brand’s identity and reputation while achieving short-term objectives and optimisations.

Combining brand and performance marketing creates a powerful mix. Brand marketing builds a connection with your audience, embedding your brand in their minds. Performance marketing capitalises on this groundwork to drive immediate actions. For instance, a strong brand presence can boost PPC campaigns, as consumers are more likely to click on ads from brands they recognise and trust.

Read our blog, on full-funnel marketing and why your Paid Media strategy shouldn’t just focus on leads or sales.

Choosing between brand and performance marketing doesn’t need to be an either/or decision. It’s about balancing the two. Define your goals: if nurturing long-term relationships is key, lean towards brand marketing; if achieving immediate targets is the priority, focus on performance marketing.

For brand marketing, channels that allow for storytelling and emotional engagement work best.

• PR
• SEO-rich content
• Blogs & guides
• Product Placement
• Branded content that reflects the brand’s voice and values

For performance marketing, channels that offer measurable engagement and conversion metrics are ideal. 

• Technical SEO
• PPC
• Google Ads
• Social Media Marketing
• Lead Generation 
• Conversion Optimisation 
• Affiliate marketing
• Influencer Marketing

Performance branding is the strategic integration of both brand and performance marketing. It leverages a variety of marketing channels to strike a balance between building brand recognition and driving measurable results. 

This approach harnesses the strengths of each strategy, creating a cohesive marketing plan that not only enhances brand awareness but also delivers concrete outcomes, such as conversions and sales. The goal is to ensure both immediate performance metrics and long-term brand equity are achieved effectively.

Your allocation of budget between brand building and performance marketing will depend on several factors, such as the size of your budget, the maturity of your business, and the nature of your industry. However, marketing effectiveness experts Les Binet and Peter Fields suggest the following distribution:

First year of business: 65% on performance marketing, 35% on brand (to capture all of the existing demand!) 

Early growth stage: 43% on performance marketing, 57% on brand.

Mature brand: 38% on performance marketing, 62% on brand.

Leader brand: 28% on performance marketing, 72% on brand.

Source – Les Binet and Peter Field, The Long and Short of It, IPA (Fig 38)

In other words, on average, a great place to start for businesses is spending around 40% of your budget on performance marketing and the rest (60%) on brand.