Gap's Head of Digital argues that a lack of brand investment forces performance marketing to work harder and become less profitable. Strong brand relevance makes all other marketing efforts more efficient, creating a symbiotic relationship.

Data shows that adding brand marketing to a performance-driven engine can increase median ROI by 90%. The persistent tension between brand and performance stems from short-termism and the allure of easily measured clicks, creating a false dichotomy between two essential functions.

It's wrong to dismiss channels like billboards because they lack direct, one-to-one conversion tracking. Their purpose isn't immediate action but to build top-of-funnel awareness. When a potential customer later searches for your service, they are more likely to choose your company from the results because they recognize and have a pre-existing preference for your brand.

Leading marketers confidently invest in high-cost, low-measurability channels like billboards and physical books. They understand that reaching a concentrated target audience builds brand in a way that can't be captured by direct attribution but drives long-term pipeline.

Startups focus 100% on direct-to-purchase ads, making them vulnerable. Long-term, successful brands shift to a 70/30 split between brand awareness and direct response. This builds a durable moat that performance-only marketing cannot, protecting them from competitors and rising ad costs.

Consumers attribute their awareness to campaigns long after they've ended, for instance, mentioning billboards months after they came down. This demonstrates the lasting psychological impact and brand equity built by mass media, proving its value extends beyond immediate, easily trackable conversions.

The term "long-term" makes CFOs suspicious, suggesting returns are indefinitely delayed. A better framing is "lasting effects," which describes how brand advertising works immediately on the 5% of in-market buyers while building memory structures that pay off continuously with the other 95%.

In a volatile market, pressure mounts to focus only on short-term performance marketing. However, brands can't neglect brand building because strong brand awareness and relevance are what make lower-funnel tactics like retail media more efficient and effective in the first place.

The engineering-driven view of advertising (e.g., from Musk or Zuckerberg) optimizes for last-touch attribution and immediate ROI. This model is flawed because it ignores the crucial, long-term brand building that made a customer consider the product in the first place.