How to Balance Brand vs Performance Marketing: Marketing Effectiveness and the ROI Data Behind the Ratio

Episode 170 with guest James Hurman, Founder of Previously Unavailable and co-founder of Tracksuit, AF Drinks and Caffeine 

This week's technical marketing skill is another on marketing effectiveness as we believe it's a core capability gap we need to close as a profession, so that we can truly be the growth engine of the business and lead the long-term commercial agenda.  

Abby is joined by James Hurman to discuss why marketing leaders need to be investing in brand AND performance and avoiding the 'performance trap'. Plus the ROI data behind 60/40 split (Binet and Field's Long and Short of it) now being approximately 50/50 for maximum gains, building a measurement framework that actually connects to commercial outcomes, and the mindset shift senior marketers need to set themselves up for a successful tenure. 

Joining Abby is James Hurman, a New Zealand-based founder, entrepreneur, investor, author and leading voice on marketing and advertising effectiveness. He is Founder and Chair of Previously Unavailable and co-founder of Tracksuit, the brand tracking platform fast becoming a go-to among UK marketers, alongside AF Drinks and Caffeine. James is the author of The Case for Creativity and Future Demand, and consults to major organisations globally on marketing and advertising effectiveness. 

Key takeaways 

• Beware the performance trap… We understand the pressure to show quick wins but short-term, visible results can mask an eroding baseline and a shrinking pool of future customers. 

• The ROI evidence for a 50/50 split keeps stacking up… James discusses four separate data sets across three decades that indicate overall ROI is highest when spend is balanced between brand and performance. 

• Build a measurement stack… James recommends tracking three levels: campaign metrics (is anyone noticing our advertising), interim metrics (is our brand growing in awareness, consideration and preference) and commercial metrics (sales, profit, market share). Most businesses have the top and bottom covered but are missing the brand dashboard in the middle. 

• The power of knowledge… The confidence to make the case for the right investment and to hold your own with stakeholders comes from building your knowledge on effectiveness. 

• Set your foundations early if you want to leave a legacy… Marketing leaders who do the right things for long-term brand building, even if it means a slower start, tend to look far better by the time they leave a role than those who chase quick wins.  

00:00 — Welcome to the Whole Marketer Podcast 

02:38 — Today's Big Juicy Question: What Is Marketing Effectiveness? 

04:02 — Why Marketers Know What to Do but Don't Always Do It 

07:33 — The Skills Gap Behind Connecting KPIs, Allocation and Investment 

09:09 — Bringing Distributed Marketing Science Together 

11:49 — Why It's Fair for Stakeholders to Question Marketing Spend 

13:39 — Introducing the Performance Trap