Branding versus Performance (3): why performance marketers should love branding

Friday 21 March 2025 - Advertising Branding

Rising CPCs. Declining ROAS. It is the order of the day. The race to the bottom has begun. But most performance marketers - and organizations - would rather stick their heads in the sand for a while longer. At least, as long as it can be solved in the short term with media budget. But those who are smart look beyond today's campaigns. In this blog series on branding vs. performance, I'll show you how to get out of this race. In this third part: why creativity is your best performance hack.

Wendy Bolhuis

Head of Brand Strategy

The never-ending performance reflex
Performance marketing has dominated for years with measurable results and immediate impact. But what happens now that that impact is waning? With CPCs rising, competitive pressures increasing and every extra dollar of media buying yielding less and less return, many marketers reflexively reach for extra ad budget. Are sales disappointing? Then we shift extra budget to paid. Are conversions declining? We bid higher and scale up.

But what if I told you that you can break this negative spiral? That by investing in high-quality campaign assets, you need to waste far less money on media? And that that investment - if done right - instantly increases your conversion rates, lowers your CPCs and improves your overall effectiveness? Sounds good, right?

All you need is guts and another budget model
What do we see in practice? Squeezing extra media budget is rarely a problem. As soon as sales drop, extra budget is shifted to media spends without hesitation. But when that same budget is needed to make the campaign itself more striking, attractive and effective? Then the hand remains on the purse strings. Not to mention the one-time(!) investments in a strong brand foundation. And that while countless studies prove time and again that precisely these investments make the difference in the effectiveness of performance campaigns.

Still, many marketers remain skeptical. After all, what is the exact payback period? Can we measure it at all? What if it doesn't work (immediately)? Almost everyone reports on a weekly or monthly basis, so the impact must be immediate. The long term, who is concerned with that? So we keep burning money at the bottom of that crowded funnel.

Branding fanatics should be performance marketing fans
Performance marketing only really works optimally when it is supported by strong branding and creativity. Consider the power of a refreshing point of view, the guts to make a statement and to be truly different from the rest of the market. If you have a strong brand and rock-solid visual content, you need fewer expensive ad clicks to convert. Simply put: branding lowers your performance costs.

vidence for this is now abundant. Several studies have already shown that creativity is the greatest contributor to a campaign's ROI, even far greater than media. Campaigns with high-quality creativity yield four times more profit than more rational campaigns.

So creativity is not a luxury, but a strategic necessity. It is the way to make your marketing not only more effective, but also more efficient. Not surprisingly, after all, you are planting a seed for the future. Is a consumer coming into the market for your product? Then you no longer have to compete for attention at the bottom of the funnel. If you build a strong brand, the consumer will come directly to you and convert better as well.

We are in a creativity critics
Funnily enough, it is still those rational sales arguments that prevail today in - our largely performance-driven - marketing. Indeed, we are currently in a true crisis of creativity. With the rise of performance marketing, advertising has become less and less creative and distinctive over the past 15 years. With the focus on data, performance marketers are making their choices based on the same best practices. The result? The entire market is optimized in the same way, making everything look alike. In other words, uniformity.

In addition, campaigns with emotional impact have been massively replaced by ads that list functional benefits. Today, the situation is even so serious that more than half of the ads do not evoke any emotion. A missed opportunity, even for the wallet. In fact, this lack of creativity has a major impact on the effectiveness of campaigns..

"It may well be that creativity is the last unfair advantage
we’re legally allowed to take over our competitors."
- Bill Bernbach

Branding is emotion and emotion sells
The numbers don't lie. An ad that touches is remembered 70% better, and brands that put emotion at the center are more successful in the long run. Why this is? Creativity has so much impact because 95% of our decisions are made subconsciously and are largely driven by emotion. Yet most marketers remain focused on rational product benefits. Time to do it differently.

Seven tips to save your brand from the race to the bottom
Ready to break that negative spiral of short-term performance marketing? With the tips below, you as a smart (performance) marketer will take the step to turn the tide and make your campaigns more effective again.

Tip 1: Coherence is the magic word
Branding only really works when it is applied coherently over an extended period of time. A brand that has the same look and message everywhere builds trust and recognition. This leads to as much as 23% sales growth and makes it 3 to 4 times more likely to be recognized. Coherence ensures that creative campaigns not only stand out, but also make a lasting impact. It strengthens the brand, builds loyalty and lays the foundation for sustainable growth.

Tip 2: Avoid the wear-out effect
So not consistency, but coherence. After all, in performance marketing it is not only important to be recognizable, but also to keep surprising. When campaigns run too long or are too similar, the wear-out effect occurs:

CTR drops - The message loses impact, people ignore the ad.
CPC increases - You have to pay more to get the same attention.
CPA increases - Your ads don't convert as well.

A strong branding strategy does not mean repeating the same message over and over, but rather continuing to load the brand concept in fresh, new ways. By adding variety in angle, visuals and storytelling, you keep your target audience alert and ensure that your brand stays top-of-mind without becoming predictable.

Tip 3: Use humor and positive emotions
Emotion is the key to an effective campaign. Campaigns that evoke a feeling are better remembered and create stronger brand associations. Positive emotions - such as happiness, joy and surprise - are the most powerful. They reinforce brand recall and create an emotional connection with the target audience.

Research shows that of the most effective campaigns, more than half use humor. Humor attracts attention, generates sympathy and makes your message more accessible. Negative emotions - such as sadness, fear or anger - can also be effective, but carry more risks. They require careful handling and work especially when they have a clear link to the brand message. Neutral campaigns have by far the least impact. What can we learn from this?

Stay away from neutral messages.
Stop listing those (rational) product benefits.
Dare to tell your message in a creative, emotional way.

Tip 4: Use campaigns to charge your brand
Creativity without brand connection is useless. A campaign can be as funny, eye-catching or emotional-if people don't immediately connect your brand to it, it's a waste of money. It's tempting to go all in on a spectacular, creative campaign. But creativity without a clear brand link muddies your message and lacks impact. Especially in the long run. A strong campaign surprises, entertains and helps charge your brand.

Tip 5: Be creative at the bottom of the funnel as well
Creativity is often seen as something for the Awareness phase, but it also plays a crucial role at the bottom of the funnel - in the Do phase. Strong, creative ads stand out, attract attention and increase both CTR and conversion rates. Your brand design, tone of voice and message also play a decisive role at the bottom of the funnel. Want your ads to do more than just compete on bids? Invest full funnel in creative content that stands out and convinces.

Tip 6: Don't forget the Care phase
After the Do phase comes the Care phase - and it is precisely this phase that is often overlooked in (performance) marketing. A shame, because here lies the key to loyal customers and repeat purchases. In this phase, many brands focus mainly on customer service, such as returns and after-sales support. Important? Absolutely. But the Care phase offers so much more than problem solving.

Think smart upsell strategies, exclusive loyalty programs and personalized content that keeps customers engaged. Creativity and distinctiveness make the difference here between a one-time buyer and a true brand fan. By staying in touch in a creative and relevant way, you not only build a long-term relationship, you also increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).

Tip 7: Use data to enhance creativity
Creativity and data are not opposites - they reinforce each other. The most effective campaigns occur when emotion is fueled by data and insights: What emotions are affecting your target audience? What trends and themes keep them engaged? What do they really care about in their buying process? By making smart use of Google Trends, CRM data, social listening and market research, you can better anticipate the wishes and needs of your target group. Qualitative insights, such as customer panels and feedback loops, also provide valuable input for creative concepts.

The challenge is to translate these insights into relevant and playful campaigns that not only stand out, but also resonate. Those who cleverly respond to what is going on in the market create content that does not feel like advertising, but as a natural addition to the target audience's experience. That's where creativity really makes an impact.

How effective are your campaigns?
Are you continuing to burn money on media at the bottom of the funnel? Or are you stepping out of that race to the bottom and ready to make your performance marketing more efficient and effective? Let's look together at how your brand can make an impact. Request our brand scan and find out how your brand is doing.

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