This position is misleading. After all, the term “performance marketing” comes from “pay-per-performance marketing,” not “pay-per-click that leads to performance.” The performance brand marketers are looking for is more revenue, not more clicks.
flip the funnel
Suppose you know at the start of a campaign that every dollar spent on tactic A will be 7x ROAS, and you expect every dollar spent on tactic B to be 7x ROAS ( However, we won't know until the modeling results come back in a few months). To get the same benefits, you should first use up your available spending on Tactic A and only invest in Tactic B if your budget allows. If you don't, you're more likely to throw your money down the drain.
Still, brands continue to prioritize top-of-funnel tactics for several reasons.
First, there is momentum. Many marketing teams invest in certain channels simply because “that's what we've always done.” Second, it's sexy. What CMO doesn't want to add some cool and flashy campaigns to their portfolio?
Finally, brands are being swayed by upper-funnel media and MMM platforms, which claim that brand media helps educate consumers on the benefits of a product and create sticky purchase behavior over time.
That may be especially true in important categories like automobiles. But the most effective way to educate consumers, increase awareness, and inspire them to spread the word about your brand is to get them in touch with your product. This is especially true for lower consideration categories such as grocery staples. And given the increasing pressure on marketers to be more efficient and prove their spend is paying off, first funds are always the most measurable and proven performance strategy to drive sales growth. should be spent on.
Smart digital rewards are one of the best tools in a marketer's toolkit for converting people into buyers, especially since 64% of shoppers say the price is better than the brand name and 75% are offered a lower price. This trend is especially noticeable now that people are willing to try out brands if they are asked to do so.
That doesn't mean brands should completely ignore upper funnel media. Retail media helps close the attribution gap and brings marketing much closer to performance than previous tools.
But the most successful strategies leverage digital and cashback rewards up and down the funnel, combining branded media with strong calls to action that drive conversion and draw consumers into the purchase process. This is often seen as brands share that combining media with an offer increases ROAS compared to that media alone.
