Should you prioritize brand or performance?

This decision will impact how you define success for any marketing tactic.

I call this the Law of Brand vs Performance Marketing.

It states: All marketing activities are a trade-off between immediate conversion and brand equity.

Performance marketing means better short-term conversion, but worse long-term brand equity.

Brand marketing means worse short-term conversion, but better long-term brand equity.

It boils down to the *expectation of how soon you expect to see a return on marketing spend*.

With a brand-driven mindset, you are okay with a longer timeline for returns.

Examples: Podcast ads, influencers, customer experience, PR, product placement

With a performance-driven mindset, you're more impatient on this.

Examples: SEO, PPC, CRO, affiliates, lead generation

Can you optimize for brand AND performance? Can you have your cake and eat it too?

Yes. Realistically most brands have to aim for both:

If you do 100% branding, you’re making art

If you do 100% performance, you’re using photos of puppies & 1 weird way to lose belly fat

Most tactics will start on one side or the other of the spectrum.

But the best marketers still try to achieve both.

For example if a tactic is perf-driven, how do you avoid being embarrassingly spammy?

Holy grail: Drive results while protecting your long-term credibility

https://www.weskao.com/blog/brand-marketing-vs-performance-marketing