Posted on by Nathalie Tay
Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates in the marketing and advertising scene
The 60:40 Rule (Or, How To Divvy Up Your Marketing Efforts For Long Term Success)
27 Jan
By Andy Greenaway
Les Binet and Peter Field (who both work at Adam & Eve, London) have been pouring over case studies from the IPA data bank. They have been pulling sales and brand-growth data from thousands of effectiveness award entries. Ten year’s worth.
As a result of their analysis, they have revealed some interesting insights.
The key one is this: successful businesses over the long term spend 60% of their marketing budget on ‘brand’ communication. What do they mean by that? Simply this. Communication that builds on a brand story (or platform, as some people like to call it) which creates ‘fame’ for the brand.
Think Snickers. Cadbury Gorilla. Or Volvo trucks with Van Damme doing the splits between two lorries.
The other 40% is spent on Activation campaigns which drive short term effects. These include promotional activity that gives away freebies and discounts. Direct response campaigns that push benefits and features. As well as performance campaigns that drive traffic, leads and conversions.
And here’s the interesting thing. Those businesses that purely focus on Activation see short term success. But in the long run, they underperform by as much as 80%.
There will be some skeptical marketers out there who are addicted to the activation approach.
But here’s the key factor. Brand communication dramatically boosts organic search. Which, if you’re pushing for digital conversion (subscriptions, tickets, food delivery, e-commerce) the sales impact can be seen almost immediately.
If you’re a business who relies on digital advertising to drive sales. Get in touch. We can show you how to increase your sales by 50% (and quite often more).
