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
Performance marketing excels at capturing demand, snapping up those who are already searching and primed to engage. It’s the master of the low-hanging fruit, capitalising on existing intent with pinpoint accuracy. But here’s the gap – demand capture alone isn’t enough to sustain long-term growth. The upper and mid-funnel stages are where brand creative can spark new interest, shape perceptions, and generate fresh demand that performance tactics can then convert.
Brand creative and performance marketing aren’t opposites; they’re the yin and yang of a cohesive marketing funnel. Brand creative lays the foundation at the top of the funnel, building awareness and emotional connections that make people care. This isn’t limited to the high-reach, brand-building exercises. Creative thinking also plays a critical role deeper in the funnel. At every stage, from consideration to conversion, creativity can surprise, re-engage, and differentiate – elements that performance marketing alone cannot achieve.
Creativity fuels all stages of the funnel
Creativity doesn’t just ride the wave of demand – it has the power to create it. It’s the spark that ignites new conversations, challenges perceptions and builds desire for products people didn’t even know they needed. Think of Apple – not just the go-to example but a masterclass in using creative storytelling to build a cult-like following. Yes, they leverage vast amounts of data to refine their targeting, but it’s the creative – the design, the narrative – that has people queuing overnight for the latest release. Performance marketing drives sales, but it’s creativity that turns those sales into cultural moments.
This isn’t just about Apple. Take local examples like BCF’s ‘BCFing fun’ or Telstra’s ‘Wherever we go’ campaign. These brands didn’t stop at converting demand, they continuously build emotional connections, turning users into advocates with emotive advertising that creates relevance. They embody what we call ‘Performance creative’ – a blend where data-driven strategy meets bold creative thinking.
The real challenge: Bridging the funnel disconnect
Let’s not sugarcoat it: integrating performance marketing with brand creative isn’t always easy. In many organisations, these functions operate in silos, with distinct KPIs and separate budgets. The performance team might focus purely on conversions, while the brand/creative team aims to build brand equity – two different goals pulling in different directions. This disconnect creates a disjointed customer journey and a missed opportunity.
The solution? Rethink the funnel as a cohesive whole, where brand creative and performance marketing complement each other throughout. Start by aligning shared KPIs that span the entire funnel, from brand lift and engagement metrics at the top to conversion rates and customer lifetime value at the bottom. Encourage cross-department collaboration and use data not as a rigid directive but as a launchpad for experimentation. When creative and performance marketing teams work together, the results are amplified, and the entire campaign becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
The age of performance creative campaigns
Businesses that get this right don’t just chase quick wins – they play the long game. They leverage performance marketing to target effectively and scale efficiently while investing in bold creative that pushes boundaries, creates memorable moments, and builds lasting connections. It’s not a trade-off between brand and performance; it’s about recognising their interdependence throughout the funnel.
Where do we go from here?
The devil is in the data – so let’s use it as a springboard for bigger, bolder creative ideas. Let’s harness the precision of performance marketing to extend our reach, while giving creativity the freedom to surprise and delight at every stage of the customer journey. Because when these two come together cohesively, we don’t just find customers – we make fans, advocates, and believers. The brands that thrive aren’t the ones shouting the loudest – they’re the ones making the smartest noise by turning data insights into cultural impact across the entire funnel.
Chris Murphy, head of creative at G Squared
