Performance marketing is in the midst of an evolution. It is shifting away from exclusively lower-funnel, direct-response activities that drive metrics such as clicks and sales and is moving up the funnel. It’s now being used to drive customer retention, engagement, and even brand awareness. At the same time, a variety of channels that have traditionally been used for upper-funnel brand building – such as TV and out-of-home (OOH) – are moving down the funnel and are increasingly being used for performance marketing.
Enabled by a level of innovation and digitalization that allows tactics at all levels of the funnel to be tied to measurable outcomes, performance marketing and brand marketing are converging in an approach known as ‘brandformance’. This approach combines brand-building efforts with measurable performance metrics, so marketers can achieve a level of duality in their marketing that prioritizes building brand loyalty and long-term consumer relationships, while also generating leads, sales, and revenue.
At a time when the wider economic situation means proving a return on every marketing dollar spent is vital, and a fragmented media landscape means the traditional linear marketing funnel is a thing of the past, the brandformance approach is rapidly gaining traction.
To better understand the evolving landscape of performance (and brandformance) marketing in the US, we surveyed 100 media executives, and conducted in-depth interviews with industry experts, about their performance marketing experiences and plans for the year ahead.
In this report we delve into their responses, starting with the types of marketing they are prioritizing and investing in. We take a look at the objectives, channels, and metrics they currently use in their performance marketing campaigns and explore how these are expanding to cover activities and KPIs at every level of the funnel.
We also outline the perceived benefits of performance marketing, as well as the challenges marketers need to overcome, before detailing their priorities for the next 12 months.
Ready to find out how performance marketing is evolving?
