Summary:
- The key objective of brand marketing is brand awareness. It may or may not lead to conversion hence, the conversion risk lies solely with the advertiser.
- The key objective of performance marketing is conversion only. In the case of performance marketing, the conversion risk is shared between the advertiser and the publisher.
- Advertisers should strive to strike a balance between brand and performance marketing.
Brand Marketing and Performance Marketing simplified
Imagine you are an interior designer. During a party, you spot a potential client and you walk up to her. There can be two approaches-
- You introduce yourself to her, talk about your line of work, show her your portfolio, ask her about her new house, chat some more, say goodbye after exchanging cards and hope for a callback. This is brand marketing.
- You introduce yourself as an interior designer, make a small but attractive pitch and ask for the project. She agrees for a meeting. This is performance marketing.
Pros & Cons:
- In the first case, you strike a chord with the client. She becomes aware of your past work and your USPs. She might or might not need you at this moment but there are high chances that whenever she or any of her friends would need help with interiors, she would remember you. So, in the short term, you might have spent half an hour of your precious time without getting the project, you have built a relationship here.
- In the second case, call to action is very clear. She either needs you or not. If she hires you, it’s very good but if not, it’s ok because you didn’t spend much time convincing her. However, she might forget you the moment she steps out of the party.
So, what’s the best choice? You would say somewhere between the two.
Guess what, we do too.
Digital Brand Marketing Campaign vs Digital Performance Marketing Campaign
Digital Brand Marketing Campaigns: For the digital brand marketing campaigns, the focus remains on the content and it’s the ability to engage with the users, educate them about the brand’s products/services and values. The objective here is brand awareness so the brand would like to reach out to maximum people possible. Unlike offline branding campaigns, specific audience cohorts can be targeted in digital campaigns and conversion is possible. However, the conversion is not the focus here. These campaigns are mostly run on CPM (Cost Per Mille) or CPD (Cost Per Day) basis.
Best Example of Digital Brand Marketing Campaigns:
Digital Performance Marketing Campaigns- The focus here is conversion. It can be in the form of a click, lead form submission, app install or customer acquisition. The ads here are more functional with a clear CTA (Call To Action). The common pricing model for digital performance marketing campaigns are Cost per Click (CPC), Cost Per Lead (CPL), Cost per Install (CPI) and Cost Per Acquisition (CPA).
Best Example of Digital Performance Marketing Campaign:
Hotstar Video Advertising with a companion banner
| Branding | Performance | |
| Objective | Brand Awareness | Conversion |
| Vision | Long Term | Short Term |
| Call To Action | May or May not be there | Compulsory |
| Pricing Model | CPM, CPD | CPC, CPL, CPI, CPA |
Best Digital Platforms/Publishers for Brand and Performance Marketing
Brand Marketing
- Hotstar
- YouTube
- News Websites
Performance Marketing
- Google Search
- Facebook and Instagram
- Native Ad Platforms
How to find the middle path-
So, there is one thing we all agree upon- The best marketing objective lies somewhere between branding and performance. The ultimate goal of any marketing activity is performance i.e. a good return on investment. But is performance marketing only (without brand marketing) the real solution? Perhaps not.
According to our digital experts, many times, performance marketing like App Install campaigns bring a lot of installs for the brands but later result in the high number of uninstalls as well, making the effective CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) really high. There might be several reasons but one of the prominent ones is lack of brand awareness and trust.
According to marketing blogger and former marketing executive for Netflix, Barry Enderwick, brand and performance are two ends of the same spectrum and every advertiser’s sweet spot lies somewhere between the two.
Tips for new advertisers
Performance marketing is a good idea but for a new brand, it might take longer to convert as the audience is unaware of the brand. The best solution would be brand marketing coupled with or followed by performance marketing. Ask your media agency for the best mix of brand and performance.
The digital experts at The Media Ant specialize in designing campaigns specifically for small and medium sized companies. We understand your objectives and requirements. Write to us at Help@TheMediaAnt.com for a free consultation on the right mix of digital platform for your advertising objective.
