Return on Brand

When it comes to brand sometimes the focus on “the return” can muddy the waters and hold a business back from reaching its full potential.

We’ve all heard of ROI (Return on Investment) when it comes to a business or investment decision. This type of thinking can be applied to an ad campaign or a specific promotion. However, when you try and apply this thinking to brand it becomes less clear.

Why is this?

This is due to the fact that it is easier to track a dollar amount on a tactic (like an ad campaign, promo, giveaway, etc.) but much trickier to track the return on a strategic investment. Brand is a strategy investment in the business, it is a bigger, more longterm investment that will return dividends over time.

This has especially become true even on a marketing level, as now it takes 7-12 impressions for a customer to make a purchase decision. This makes tracking the initial investment much harder. This “drip ecosystem” could entail a customer engaging with your brand on social media a few times, seeing an ad in the local magazine, and an ad on the TV — so which medium do you attribute the customer acquisition or sale? It’s not as easy as it used to be when you just had a few mediums of marketing.

The important part of all of this is realizing that since the “drip ecosystem” is now the new normal for marketing strategies and tactics, the overlaying strategy from the brand becomes even more critical for your success.

This is because now as your marketing has become more diluted by the evolution of society, your brand is the common thread that must weave its way through all 7-12 impressions. The return on your brand being consistent, relevant, and memorable increases your marketing tactics and help those impressions be more impactful.

Some businesses will play the numbers game and know that they need to reach X amount of crowds of people on X amount of platforms to get a certain % conversion rate on impressions. This approach will typically drive a very high cost rate per conversion since it is more math-based than strategy-based. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to know your numbers, but you end up burning through your return without having proper strategy.

Without brand and strategy, a business will be on a treadmill of burning cash to try and reach the quantity of people to convert the right amount to make the initial cash burn make sense. It’s like constantly having to add gas to the fire to keep it going because it keeps burning through the fuel.

When you have brand, the overall strategy is like building a proper fire where you spend the extra time and resources getting the right materials to start and maintain the fire. Having firestarter like newspaper and dry leaves with some more solid wood or branches to keep the fire roaring once it is going. Yes, you can have an initial cash-injection like putting gas on the fire at the beginning, but that will burn off. The gas is a tactic, not a longterm play that will bring you return.

What’s the return on brand?

The return on brand is much more of a compounding effect. Not only does it make future marketing and advertising efforts more effective, but also benefits the business in the longterm as the brand awareness and recognition grows. It’s the difference of spending money on an ad with a horrible brand and spending the same on the ad with a great brand. Those dollars spent on that specific ad will prove more successful in the present and the future as the impressions gathered from that ad were not only more impactful, but will be more likely to remember the actual brand and draw connections to it. This saves costs and time, but also increases the benefits on investments you were going to make on your advertising. It’s a double-bladed source of benefits for your business that grows with time.

The fire only burns hotter and bigger as time goes on – when built properly. You won’t have to keep tossing gas or twigs on the fire, but rather be strategic about your fire and ensure the warmth you need to survive. Treat your brand in the same manner, which will yield a far greater return on your investment.