Brand versus direct response
The debate about brand versus direct response has often polarised marketers in the past, with one side focussed on an immediate return; the other preferring to play the long game.
In reality, whichever aspect a business chooses to focus on, the goal is still the same: to drive response.
Direct response is likely to achieve that more quickly, whilst brand raises awareness, which in turn helps conversion, without necessarily producing it. Brand is above the line, targeting mass market whilst direct response focuses below the line.
So what role does each play – and how do you strike the perfect balance?
What is effective brand advertising?
Think of a brand you admire. Perhaps John Lewis? Now think of their 2017 Christmas advert – with #MozTheMonster, the 7ft tall fluffy, playful ‘monster’, hiding under the bed of 7 year old Joe, preventing him from getting a good night’s sleep – until Joe is given a nightlight. If it leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy – and perhaps even makes you cry – there’s a good chance it’s a John Lewis ad.
Their 2010 ad featuring the message ‘Never knowingly undersold on quality, price and service. Our lifelong commitment to you’ was particularly memorable for reducing its viewers to tears, as it featured John Lewis woman growing from infancy through to old age, through key milestones, against a backdrop of every John Lewis product you could imagine.
Boots also hit home last Christmas with its campaign #ShowThemYouKnowThem, focusing on two sisters, and how a single gift from one to another brilliantly illustrates how strong the bond is between them. One minute long, it showed the actual wrapped present for no more than a couple of seconds – and not once did we get to see what it actually was!
Another great example of brand advertising is the slo-mo advert for Lloyds Bank, depicting its iconic black horse galloping through a backdrop of key moments in British history as well as the present day. With no more copy than ‘Buy your side for over 250 years’, it powerfully conveys the suggestion of the bank as a constant to its customers through significant change.
So what do the above all have in common? They focused on brand. Not on the individual product or service they sell. Sure, John Lewis sold out of the star constellation projector nightlight within minutes of the ad airing. But the overall point of the ads is to position the brands themselves as having value and meaning in our lives, as if they really understand us and our individual needs.
So what is direct response marketing?
If brand marketing aims to help people to choose, then direct response marketing helps people to buy.
It’s the targeted campaign to get prospects to download that white paper from your site; to sign up to your newsletter; to follow your LinkedIn company page and then sign up for a demo of your new software.
Its intention is to nurture and convert prospects to customers. To funnel sales through a more clearly defined buying journey.
Direct response is below the line, much more one to one. And it’s often preferred by those working to a tighter budget.
So a new tech start up is far more likely to use direct response marketing to drive engagement with its new software, based on the benefits of the software itself. Because, for many, in the short term, brand marketing alone won’t pay the bills.
Should we be targeting brand or direct response in 2018?
The tension between spend on brand and direct response is not new – it’s something clients and agencies have long been aware of. But it inevitably requires both parties to strike a balance that itself needs to be fluid.
All spend on advertising ought to drive response but as attribution tech advances, we are increasingly able to see the more nuanced effects of customer responses, that go way beyond offer codes or last click attribution.
This then clearly points to the merit of combining the two approaches of mass media and below the line marketing for the savvy marketer in 2018.
A strategic approach to marketing
There doesn’t need to be a dichotomy between brand and direct response – perhaps,in an ideal world, brand should run continuously and direct response should ‘amplify’ it. Put together effectively, they complement each other well.
Good brand marketing, or ‘delayed response’ marketing, should enable direct response marketing to convert more easily. Those who love John Lewis won’t need to be sold their latest kettle. It might well also be available on Amazon but its loyal customers will prefer the John Lewis experience. And that’s the power of effective brand marketing.
What is required however, is a strategic approach to marketing, that plans for and clearly identifies how these two facets of marketing interact. And ultimately, what effect they both have. Short term metrics are not a safe predictor of long term success: investment in both is required for the longer term business benefit.
And quite what the right combination of the two is for your business will very much depend on your product and where you are in your company’s life cycle.
Contact us for more tailored advice about how the Ideal Marketing Company can help you grow your business.
