Brand creative needs performance marketing as much as performance marketing needs brand creative
The future of marketing isn’t brand vs. performance but about integrating them seamlessly to ignite new audiences, re-engage existing ones, and create advocates who fuel long-term growth. Smart noise, not loud noise, wins the game, writes Chris Murphy, head of creative at G Squared.
Many businesses are hooked on the thrill of performance marketing. It’s the ultimate rush: data, metrics, and KPIs pointing to quicker wins – a tempting formula, especially in a tough economic climate. Nail the right audience, get the timing spot-on, and watch the ROI soar. It’s efficient, no doubt – performance marketing offers precision like a surgeon’s scalpel. But after 15 years in creative agencies and six months in a digital consultancy, I’m here to tell you that performance marketing finds customers, while brand creative makes new ones.
To be clear, as a lifelong ‘brand guy,’ I’m a big fan of performance marketing – it’s the engine driving the whole show. Campaigns built on solid data, optimised targeting, and smart bidding stretch budgets, drive results and keep everyone in the boardroom smiling. It’s a magic formula: test, refine, repeat. Yet, there’s a risk here: when we over-rely on performance marketing, creativity gets sidelined – limited to what the numbers say works best.
Yin and yang: Brand meets performance
