I love data. I love reviewing performance, looking for anomalies and finding the surprising little insights that hide in plain sight. What I don’t love, however, is the trap that data — especially performance data can create.
The advertising industry has long known that standard attribution models lack sophistication and real clarity. They over-prioritize lower-funnel tactics and make an appealing case for shifting budget to those “overperforming” conversion tactics in an attempt for quick conversion wins.
This trap — eloquently dubbed the advertising “doom loop” in WARC’s recent Multiplier Effect report — waits for all modern marketers. While data created the loop, it can also set us free.
In the Multiplier Effect, a research cohort examined campaign performance and found observable and valid data showing what many have suspected all along: performance marketing focused solely on conversion tactics isn’t enough to create lasting and impactful results. In fact, companies saw a median 40% ROI decrease when moving from a mixed brand equity and performance strategy to performance alone.
The impact was even larger when companies took the leap from an existing performance strategy alone to add brand equity enforcement as well. These companies saw a median revenue ROI increase of 90% because they were realizing a fundamental concept too often forgotten in today’s performance-driven world: stronger brands drive stronger performance.
We must keep investing in our brand with a significant portion of our marketing budgets – anywhere from 30-70% according to the report — to generate the long-term results that affect the bottom line. As difficult as it is, avoiding the temptation to chase nominal performance improvements at the expense of our brand can be exactly the strategic advantage needed in today’s competitive landscape.
