Branding and performance marketing are often seen as two different (even competing) strategies in the marketing world — branding is sometimes seen as immeasurable, while performance marketing is numbers-driven and trackable. But does combining the two increase the odds of hitting the marketing jackpot with immediate results and long-term growth?
New Research by Tracksuit and TikTok proves that brands are more likely to hit it big when the performance marketing jackpot is coupled with brand awareness. They discovered that high-awareness brands achieve 2.86 times the conversion rate of low-awareness brands — a smoking gun that shows branding and performance marketing are a winning pair rather than rivals.
In this article, we’ll break down the differences between branding and performance marketing and how they complement each other. We’ll also share future-focused insights from our VP of Performance Marketing and Creative Director on how combining branding and performance marketing can be your game-winning strategy.
Defining Branding and Performance Marketing
Before we dive into what makes branding and performance marketing a powerful duo, let’s discuss what each one brings to the dealer’s table.
What Is Branding?
When you think of branding, you probably think of logos, colors, typography, and other visual elements. While these visuals play a key role, branding is more than what meets the eye. Branding communicates a company’s value to its target audience through visual elements, consistent messaging, and customer experiences.
Take Nike, for example. The famous swoosh logo and “Just Do It” slogan are instantly recognizable, but the brand is deeper than visuals alone. Nike showcases its value by sharing stories of perseverance and athletic excellence, which are relatable to the company’s target audience’s goals and personal struggles.
Avalaunch Media’s Creative Director Craig Farmer stresses that great brands are not built overnight:
“Your brand is so much more than a logo, which is merely the face of your company — often the first visual identity touchpoint for clientele. Your brand proper, meanwhile, takes root over time, and is all about how you make your target audience feel. An effective visual identity helps convey that your brand is one that can be trusted. An established overall brand delivers an invaluable kickstart to your performance marketing once that’s added to the mix.”
— Craig Farmer
What Is Performance Marketing?
Performance marketing, on the other hand, focuses on measurable short-term results, like clicks, conversions, or sales. It functions solely on a pay-for-results model, allowing advertisers to place strategic bets on performance and pay when the desired outcome is reached. This approach helps marketers play a winning hand, maximizing the value of their ad spend through digital ads, affiliate marketing, or sponsored partnerships.
For example, if you run a Google search ad campaign to promote a new product line, you might target keywords that describe your product. When users search those terms, your ad appears with a link to the product page. If a user clicks on the link and makes a purchase, you only pay for clicks, conversions, or sales, ensuring you’re paying for actual results.
Why Branding and Performance Marketing Combined Are a Winning Duo
So, what makes branding and performance a winning pair? Here’s what Avalaunch Media’s VP of Performance Marketing says:
“Now more than ever, you can’t do one without the other. Performance marketing acts as a Band-Aid for businesses, while branding is more than just logos; it’s creating customer experiences.”
— Kyle Shurtz
How Branding Supports Performance Marketing
Visual branding lays the foundation for performance marketing by creating and maintaining an unmistakable identity your customers can resonate with. This identity influences how customers perceive your brand and interact with your products and services.
When done correctly, branding builds trust and familiarity, stacking the deck in your favor. It makes customers feel seen and understood. With that strong emotional connection, they’re more likely to act on your performance marketing efforts, giving you a higher chance of hitting the jackpot.
How Performance Marketing Enhances Branding
On the other side of the coin is performance marketing. While it focuses on short-term results, this strategy allows you to see valuable, real-time insights into how customers behave and interact with your brand.
For example, if you track clicks and conversions, you can see which brand messages are winning with your ideal audience and which are busting. Tracking these metrics allows you to refine and shape your brand’s identity, messaging, and overall customer experience. With each successful play, you get closer to building a brand that resonates and keeps customers coming back to place their next bet.
How to Achieve Synergy Between Branding and Performance Marketing
How do we actually forge the synergy between performance marketing and brand building? Shurtz offers two trends businesses can implement to integrate branding and performance marketing.
1. Create a Unified Marketing Strategy
Businesses must start using branding and performance marketing together as one cohesive marketing strategy for success. Shurtz compares performance marketing without branding to winning the lottery as a negative individual:
“If you’re a generally unhappy person and you win the lottery, the excitement of winning won’t last. The same applies to performance marketing. You may drive short-term results, but it won’t lead to long-term satisfaction.”
Performance marketing and creative teams can collaborate to create a unified strategy. Branding should communicate the long-term vision, while performance marketing focuses on short-term results. For example, you can try A/B testing different brand messaging with your marketing campaign to learn what resonates most with your target audience.
2. Ensure Brand Consistency Across Multiple Ad Channels
Another trend Shurtz sees coming around the corner is businesses leveraging performance marketing and branding to create consistent content styles across multiple ad channels. He shares the example of vertical video, which has become dominant on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. By consistently using vertical video on different ad channels, brands can deliver a cohesive customer experience and achieve better results.
Increase Your Odds With Branding and Performance Marketing
As the marketing world continues to evolve, mastering the integration of branding and performance marketing will increase the odds of success and land more in your favor, helping you win over your target audience and build a lasting marketing partnership.
At Avalaunch Media, we’re changing the marketing game with our strategic fractional leadership and specialized agency execution for brands needing strategic guidance. This model provides clear strategic direction and alignment between branding and performance marketing teams, helping them work toward shared goals.
Contact us today to discover how we can transform your marketing into game-winning strategies for short- and long-term success.
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