Brand awareness. Everyone’s talking about it.
But how do you make it grow? Why should you even care? And – ultimately – what does it even mean?
Digging into the fundamentals, Chris Nawrocki, CMO and marketing specialist at business growth agency Heur, explains why businesses need to invest more in brand awareness and how to pull the whole thing off without a disaster.
In a perfect world, marketing trends would reflect consumer behaviour trends. But history tells us it doesn’t really work like that.
The recent shift towards brand and brand awareness in the world of digital marketing isn’t reflective of a change in consumerism. Yes, we may collectively have a little less money in our pockets, but our core relationship with products and how we buy them remains the same.
What has changed is the digital ecosystem in which marketers work, which tends to hit agencies, tech and third parties much harder than it does actual brands and end consumers. This all makes more sense if you consider how digital developed as a marketing channel.
Why focus on brand awareness?
Back in the early days of internet commercialisation, products like Google Ads relied on highly trackable metrics and an extremely accessible analytics programme which could paint a direct line between ad spend and revenue generated.
It was the central pillar for most digital agency pitches in the early days and it allowed them to quickly carve out budgets from more traditional advertising, which was inherently inferior because ‘you can’t track results’.
Ad platforms from tech companies, and the agencies that managed them, cashed in big time. But then a shift started to happen. The tools that made all of this possible were either being intentionally restricted by tech giants or legislated out of existence by governments.
So ad platforms and performance agencies were left with a problem. How to keep hold of advertiser budgets now their proposition is fundamentally weaker than before?
The answer of course, is ‘brand awareness’.
What do brands need to look out for?
It is important to remember that not all trends in marketing are consumer generated. And the emphasis on brand and brand awareness is certainly one that is more fuelled by advertisers and tech.
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Because of this, 2024 will bring a lot of conversation around the need to invest heavily into brand or ‘top of funnel’ activity. You’ll be told that you need to invest and wait to see this investment manifest in increased demand which fuels the ‘bottom of the funnel’ revenue generating campaigns.
On the face of it this principle isn’t wrong. Brand is, and always has been, a primary determinant to success.
But now the concept will be used as a shield by agencies to deflect criticism around results. And if you overinvest, you’ll be the one holding the bag – not the agencies or consultant who advocated for it.
4 core principles of the ‘brand awareness’ pitch
1. All advertising must perform. All advertising must ‘brand’
The split between performance and brand advertising is somewhat artificial. In reality, the best advertising should do both.
Brand and performance advertising both need to generate sales. The only real distinction between the two is the timeline you’re prepared to allow for that revenue to materialise. Performance channels typically limit that to a cookie or attribution window, while brand needs more involved measurement techniques.
In a similar and opposing manner, performance advertising needs to ‘brand’. When we say brand, we mean it needs to create that fundamental link between the business and the product category which can be recalled at a later date.
All advertising needs to do both of these things, otherwise it’s just bad advertising. Slapping an ‘awareness’ or ‘brand building’ label on a campaign doesn’t negate this requirement.
2. Ignore the ‘sales funnel’
When you’re being asked to sign off a big media spend for brand awareness you’ll likely get shown a funnel split between top, middle and bottom. You’ll be told that customers neatly drop into the top and then gradually filter through to the bottom, nurtured by ads that are handmade to appeal to where a particular customer is in the funnel.
In reality, it’s a lot messier.
There’s little evidence that this ‘marketing funnel’ actually exists or that it can be used to practically inform what advertising messages a person should receive at a given time.
In summary, it’s important to not let ‘top of funnel’ be used as an excuse for weak creative.
3. Investing in brand must be risk managed
Brand campaigns are dangerous for two reasons. Firstly, the budgets requested are usually much larger than performance marketing investment. Secondly, the payback window is longer than you’re used to with performance-focused channels.
Advertising is an inherently risky endeavour, so special steps need to be taken between marketing and finance leaders to protect the finances of the business should the worst happen.
It is important to ask yourself – if this campaign completely flops over the next six months, how bad is the P&L going to be? How long do we wait until we pull the plug? What other areas of investment are losing out because of this ad spend?
Remember – advertising is an investment, and good investing is properly risk managed.
4. Attribution can be whatever you want it to be
Attribution is closely linked to the concept of brand. Naturally advertisers want to know that the budget invested into one part of the promotional mix will be spat out the other side with a decent multiplier attached to it.
Unfortunately, true attribution is the white whale of ecommerce. Choosing a model is largely arbitrary and only really helps to provide a consistent measuring method. You should be naturally sceptical of any attribution models which paint a neat link and direct link between brand campaigns and bottom line revenue.
The link between brand and revenue is a matter of fact, but the connecting lines aren’t neat or accessible in the way Google Analytics natives are used to.
‘Brand’ is the current product being sold by the digital advertising industry. And like all the best grifts, it’s built on a foundation of truth. However, ‘brand’ is bigger than just advertising campaigns. It’s a collection of experiences a person has of your business, one of which might be an ad. If you’re already gaining traction, then investing more into advertising could help you reach new heights.
But if you’re struggling to see growth already, dumping money into ‘top of funnel’ activity will likely just burn a hole in your finances.
