Building a brand takes time, an asset we often lack. And in the meantime, you have to survive. So how do you choose between a brand-building strategy and short-term ‘sales’ activations? As is often the case, it's a balancing act, but you need everything. The work of Les Binet and Peter Field, often regarded as the godfathers of marketing effectiveness, offers valuable insights on this subject.
Sales activations vs. brand strategy: what's the difference?
Sales activations are designed to generate immediate revenue. They specifically target consumers who are ready to buy, using messages that engage the intellect and require an immediate response. However, the effect of these activations quickly dissipates. In this case, two elements of the equation are crucial: being able to target the right people and sending them the right message. If this equation with two unknowns is solved, bingo!
This equation could be written as follows:
Perfect targeting + clear, concise message
= quick wins
Here, the target prospects are looking for a similar product, seeking information and the product must be readily available to them for purchase.
In contrast, brand-building initiatives aim to have a long-term impact. They are aimed at a wider audience, seeking to arouse emotions and anchor lasting memories that will influence future purchasing decisions. These efforts take longer to fade and make a significant contribution to long-term profitability. Here, the aim is to target people who don't necessarily need our product right now. But we want to ‘get inside their heads’, to create a reflex, so that when the time comes, these people will think of our brand. This is what we call mental availability.
In this case, the equation still has two unknowns, but is easier to solve:
Broad targeting + emotional message
= mental availability
In this case, the prospect is not necessarily committed to the idea of making a purchase. The idea is therefore to generate interest in the brand and create a mental readiness to make a purchase in the future.
Short term vs long term
As you can see, a sales activation strategy will have a short-term effect that will fade quickly, whereas a brand strategy will see the brand's aura grow over time. The diagram below, by researchers Binet and Field, is a good illustration of this state of affairs:
The optimum ratio?
We're not into ‘it depends’. So we searched the marketing literature. According to Binet's research, the ideal ratio between brand building and sales activations is 60:40. This figure can vary depending on the sector and the brand's stage of development. In the digital age, where sales activations are becoming more effective, there is a tendency to favour brand building.
Nike is a case in point.
Nike built its brand by capitalising on deeply human insights, through their ‘Just do it’ campaigns, while stimulating short-term sales with product innovations and seasonal offers.
It's often forgotten, but Nike has built its reputation by always siding with athletes. In the 60s, running was associated with hippie activities; you had to be crazy to go out in shorts and run in the street (in fact, the first people who dared to do so were arrested). Since then, Nike has managed to maintain this image by associating its name with committed athletes, as was the case with Colin Kaepernick in 2018. It's all about branding. We'll give you an example here, just for fun:
But that's not all Nike does. The brand also publishes campaigns with a product focus.This mix of activations and brand building has solidified Nike as a dominant brand in the minds of consumers.
In conclusion, brands that understand and effectively implement this strategy of balancing immediate activations with building long-term relationships with consumers are better placed to thrive in today's commercial environment.
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