Copyright Adweek
Marketers face more pressure than ever to prove ROI on every ad dollar. Performance advertising makes results easy to measure, but brand advertising often feels harder to quantify. The truth is it’s not a choice between brand or performance. Brand advertising drives performance by creating demand, building trust, and fueling conversion. Performance limitations When you focus solely on lower-funnel metrics like ROAS, you limit your growth. Performance advertising excels at converting customers already ready to buy, answering questions like whether the ad drove sales and at what cost, but not who you’re reaching next. By focusing only on immediate results, you create blind spots. You miss the chance to influence future buyers and shape preferences earlier in the journey. That’s where brand advertising comes in: building awareness and trust that make performance campaigns more effective and more cost efficient. Brand and performance marketing work best together. The most efficient performance campaigns are built on a strong brand foundation. Without brand advertising to build awareness and trust, you end up working harder and paying more to get the same results. Quantifiable brand impact Strong brands consistently demonstrate three measurable advantages. First, they generate more branded searches, showing recognition and preference. Second, they achieve higher click-through rates in generic search results. Third, they convert at higher rates during the product consideration phase. Consider this real-world scenario: When consumers search for a “55-inch TV,” they’re more likely to click on and purchase from recognized brands even at premium prices. A consumer might choose a Samsung TV at $328 over a lesser-known brand priced at $260, despite identical review ratings. That choice isn’t just about prestige; it directly impacts performance metrics. The multiplier effect Brand advertising creates a powerful multiplier effect in three key ways: Search efficiency: When people search for your brand name, you naturally gain more prominent organic visibility, which has cost benefits. You pay less for clicks on branded terms, your ads rank higher thanks to stronger click-through rates, and you reduce spend on costly generic keywords as more people search directly for your brand. Conversion lift: Familiarity builds trust. Customers who know your brand are more likely to purchase when they see your products. Brand recognition removes hesitation during the buying process, smoothing the path to conversion. This lift extends to generic product searches as well. When customers recognize your brand, they feel more confident in their decision, leading to higher conversion rates across all channels. Long-term value: Over time, your total advertising cost of sale (TACoS) decreases as recognition grows. You continue to benefit from sustained organic visibility while loyalty and repeat purchases compound your returns. Trust built through brand advertising strengthens every marketing channel, creating a sustainable advantage. Measuring brand impact The challenge isn’t that brand advertising is unmeasurable—it’s that many marketers aren’t measuring the right things. Instead of only tracking traditional brand metrics like awareness and favorability, focus on tracking specific behaviors. Monitor the shift from generic to branded searches to see how brand advertising drives recognition and intent. Compare click-through rates between audiences exposed to brand advertising and those that aren’t. Analyze conversion rates for customers who have seen brand ads versus those who haven’t. These metrics provide concrete proof of how brand advertising influences consumer behavior and improves performance marketing efficiency. By tracking these specific behavioral changes, you can better understand and optimize your investments for maximum impact on both immediate performance and long-term business success. The path forward To maximize your advertising investment, consider these steps: 1. Track the full consumer journey, not just the final conversion. 2. Measure how brand exposure impacts performance metrics. 3. Analyze how brand strength affects your cost-per-click and conversion rates across channels. 4. Calculate the TACoS to understand the complete picture of advertising efficiency. The future of brand advertising Successful marketers will be those who understand that brand and performance advertising aren’t opposing forces but complementary tools. Measuring and optimizing the connection between brand impact and performance metrics creates more efficient and effective marketing programs. The key is to shift your perspective. Brand advertising is a performance multiplier. Once you quantify how brand advertising improves your performance across the entire customer journey, the question isn’t whether to invest in brand advertising—it’s how to optimize its impact on your overall marketing success. — Over his 16-year tenure at Amazon, Jody Biggs designed and built Amazon’s initial display advertising systems and audience segment capabilities, created Amazon Stores’ content optimization engine, was responsible for major redesigns of the Amazon Shopping experience, and drove innovation in Amazon’s measurement systems, including measurement of Amazon’s multibillion-dollar variable and fixed marketing spend effectiveness.
