“Brands are built over time, but to survive they also need to deliver results today,” says Ricardo Pereira, co-founder of Comon, the agency behind a conference (pictured) on balancing short- and long-term investment strategies.
The balance between investing in brand-building and performance marketing remains a subject of debate among industry experts, as demonstrated by the speakers at the “Long vs Short Term” conference, organised by Comon in partnership with Nova Expressão. The event took place at Hood, in Lisbon, on 25 September.
Whether to invest in brand-building or performance marketing remains a divisive issue among industry experts, as reflected in the discussions at the “Long vs Short Term” event, organised by Comon in partnership with Nova Expressão at Hood, in Lisbon, on 25 September.
“A castle without its façade can easily be breached,” warned Mariana Coimbra, Marketing Director at ERA, arguing in favour of investing in brand building. “A product alone will not sell. People buy according to their motivations. My sales network keeps asking me to invest in the brand because whenever we launch a campaign, more people walk into our branches afterwards,” she said.
“A brand strategy should be focused on creating opportunities for sales,” argued Ana André, consultant at Comon and a strong advocate of continuous investment in brand building. In the view of the former Marketing Director at Leroy Merlin, this can be achieved with more modest investment levels.
“It is increasingly possible to invest in brand building with very little—or even no—money, by generating virality and capturing consumers’ attention. The same cannot be said for performance marketing,” Ana André said.
Mariana Coimbra pointed to Gleba, Musa and Swee as examples of brands that have successfully attracted customers without spending millions. “We should not be afraid to look beyond the big players and their astronomical budgets. It is no longer necessary to make huge investments to reach consumers. What matters is not wasting budget simply to keep the funnel alive,” said the ERA Marketing Director.
Filipe Almeida, Digital Director at Science4you, takes the opposite approach, favouring performance marketing to drive sales. The company focuses its investment on Amazon and its own e-commerce platform to acquire customers. “Eighty per cent of our advertising budget is allocated to the channels where people buy toys. We reach them with our product, which is our king. That is how we have successfully entered markets such as Italy, Germany and the United States, despite having no brand awareness there,” he said.
Marketers Under Pressure to Deliver Quick Results
The balance between short- and long-term strategies was also discussed at the event, with speakers acknowledging the challenge of communicating brands, products and services in a market that is constantly evolving.
“For us, the ‘short term’ is actually quite long. Many short-term initiatives take time to deliver results because our value chain is long, even though we are under constant pressure to produce results quickly,” said Sérgio Carvalho, Marketing and Customer Director at Fidelidade.
“Balancing the short and the long term depends on the activity we carry out throughout the year. Since 70% of our business relies on conversion, we need campaigns that drive sales. At the same time, we must ensure the brand remains top of mind with consumers by building a marketing plan that strikes the right balance between the two,” said Andreia Vaz, Marketing and Consumer Experience Director at Worten.
The specific nature of different businesses also brings distinct challenges. “Sponsorship agreements are negotiated well in advance, which requires us to take a long-term view. At the same time, because our business is digital, it comes with its own level of complexity. There is a great deal of unpredictability, so we have separate decision-making processes that allow us to respond more quickly when immediate action is needed,” said Tiago Simões, Country Manager of Betclic.
Ismo Nikkola, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Brand at Finnish dairy company Valio, shared an in-house planning methodology developed by the company. “We have a long-term plan, but it is intentionally broad. Every four months, we review and refine it based on the needs of the business and the performance data we receive,” he explained.
“Brands are built over time, but to survive they also need to deliver results today,” concluded Ricardo Pereira, co-founder of Comon and one of the event’s moderators. Meios & Publicidade was the event’s media partner.
