Bridging the divide: Why brand and performance marketing need to stop competing 

Marketing often feels like a tale of two tribes: brand marketers and performance marketers. The former focuses on long-term brand equity, positioning, and emotional connections. The latter prioritizes short-term results, data, and measurable wins. Framing these two disciplines as opposing forces oversimplifies the reality. As Les Binet and Peter Field highlight in The Long and the Short of It (a must-read for any marketer), the real magic lies in collaboration. It’s about combining the immediate impact of sales activation with the lasting value of brand building. Here’s how. 

Beyond stereotypes: brand building isn’t fluff, and data isn’t cold. 

Let’s debunk a myth: brand marketing isn’t just emotional fluff, and performance marketing isn’t devoid of creativity. Done right, both are deeply strategic. Brand marketers often talk about “building for the future”. They focus on emotional storytelling and strategic positioning to create brand equity that sticks. Think of the memorable campaigns that stay with you long after the ads have disappeared. They are the result of this kind of long-term thinking. Success here is measured, for example, by brand recall and associations, which take time to pay off. 

Performance marketers, on the other hand, are all about the now. They need to ensure that every euro spent delivers visible returns. They track click-through rates and return on ad spend (ROAS), leveraging precise data to hit immediate targets. The problem isn’t their goals. It is the lack of alignment between both teams. 

Take Nike, for example. Every campaign they launch embodies their “Just Do It” ethos, building brand equity through high-profile ATL ads. But they don’t stop there. That same brand spirit is carried through to the product level, reflected in hyper-targeted e-commerce ads aimed at driving conversions.  

Compare this with brands that push uncoordinated campaigns. A luxury shoe brand that slashes prices with a poorly designed digital ad might see a short-term spike in sales but lose credibility with loyal customers. This is what happens when brand and performance teams operate in silos.

Storytelling that sells. 

As Les Binet and Peter Field highlight in The Long and the Short of It, successful marketing isn’t about choosing one approach over the other. It’s about balance. Their research suggests a golden ratio of 60% investment in brand-building campaigns and 40% in short-term performance activation. Why? Brand-building creates the foundation for sustained growth, while performance campaigns capitalize on that same foundation for immediate returns. 

Here’s what that looks like in practice: 

• Airbnb’s pandemic pivot: During COVID, Airbnb abandoned aggressive performance marketing and leaned into storytelling with “Made Possible by Hosts.” This campaign’s emotional resonance strengthened their brand and delivered a 20% boost in traffic. Proof that long-term thinking can drive short-term wins. 

• Gamma’s radio ads: By combining promotional messaging with relatable storytelling (think the “Bompi” campaign), Gamma simultaneously builds brand equity and drives immediate foot traffic. Their choice of radio (an activation-heavy medium) illustrates how you can achieve both goals without diluting focus.

   

Stop thinking in silos. 

The path forward isn’t about compromise. It’s about accountability. Brand marketers must become performance-accountable, and performance marketers need to be brand-accountable. While campaigns should have a clear focus, their success must be evaluated holistically. For example, a performance campaign shouldn’t only be judged on ROAS but also on its contribution to brand equity, such as brand likeability. They can (and should) create immediate feedback loops that offer actionable insights. 

Measuring the impact of brand campaigns may seem abstract, but it’s far from impossible. At Exterioo, for example, we monitored website traffic, conversion rates, and average session duration to gauge the effectiveness of a TV campaign. This data helped us understand how brand efforts translated into customer engagement and action. By combining traditional brand metrics with measurable performance indicators, Exterioo ensured campaigns contributed to long-term equity and short-term results.

Marketing is a marathon, and a sprint combined. 

The real danger isn’t investing too much in brand or performance. It’s losing sight of the big picture. Relying solely on short-term performance metrics can lead to what Binet and Field call “short-termism”: a relentless focus on ROI that erodes long-term value. On the flip side, overinvesting in brand marketing without clear performance goals can feel like shooting from the hip. 

My advice: Embrace the duality. Build campaigns that combine the emotional heft of brand marketing with the precision of performance tactics. Yes, that’s harder to measure. But isn’t great marketing always a little messy? 

Marketing isn’t black and white. It’s not brand versus performance, emotion versus data, or art versus science. It’s all of these things. Working together to create something more significant than the sum of its parts. The brands that understand this don’t just survive. They thrive. 

The question isn’t which approach is better. It’s whether your marketing is bold enough to do both.