The Long & Short of It: How to Win the Brand-building Marathon
Navigating the complexities of modern advertising requires a delicate balance between fostering long-term brand growth and driving immediate sales. While not quite ‘a tale as old as time,’ Les Binet and Peter Field have long preached the 60/40 rule – 60% brand and 40% activation, with the flexibility to adjust the ratio based on the brand, category, situation, and other contextual factors.
Additionally, Binet and Field’s “The Long and the Short of It” shared the notion that it’s not a balancing act of rational and emotional messaging in the same (“Double Duty”) ads, but rather going for pure emotion in most ads for maximum effectiveness. This emotion leads to brand-building potential that supports both long-term and short-term impact.
At System1, we’ve measured the emotional response of consumers to more than 100,000 ads, from which we can predict commercial impact, both in the short and long-term. In 2023, we partnered with Mark Ritson to see whether marketers aiming for the short could also achieve the long and vice versa.
Mark shared the results of our UK analysis in his Marketing Week column – most notably, brand-building advertising can achieve both but activation ads rarely do.
Would the findings hold true for the US market?
US advertising effects
We delved into more than 40,000 US ads broadcast on TV from June 2018 to May 2024 to test our theory about double-duty ads once again. To understand the long vs. the short, we looked at each ad’s Star Rating (System1’s metric predicting long-term growth) and Spike Rating (measure of short-term sales potential).
We found substantial evidence that strong brand-building ads also perform well in the short term. The analysis found that 92.1% of ads achieving 4- and 5-Stars (out of a possible 5.9-Stars for long-term brand building) also achieved an above-average Spike Rating, showcasing their potential to drive sales in the 8-10 weeks post airing.
In other words, long-term brand initiatives often naturally support immediate sales. It’s further proof that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Brand-building campaigns do the work of stretching your investment further by driving mental availability and creating demand among those who are ready to purchase. They accomplish this by not only catching the attention of audiences but also resonating deeply and emotionally with viewers to create enduring brand awareness and loyalty.
Would activation ads still suffer a “did not finish” in the brand-building race? Our next analysis reveals the answer.
As the second chart shows, short-term performance marketing often falls short in contributing to enduring market share growth. When taking a closer look at the top 25% of ads according to Spike Rating (short-term sales potential), more than half (53.4%) scored on the lower end of System1’s Star Rating scale for long-term brand-building potential (1- and 2-Star range).
Today, many brands still lean heavily into short-term performance marketing. Activation ads leverage limited-time offers or product launches to create an immediate response. To highlight the newest deals or features, they often use voiceovers, fast-paced rhythmic soundtracks and freeze-frame effects. They appeal to those who already have an inherent interest in the product or brand, but frequently overlook the broader and important potential for building lasting brand equity and profitability.
In fact, brands whose ads effectively engage today’s buyers (high Spike Rating) are essentially flipping a coin on whether their creative will also engage the broader audience (Star Rating).
Go right to maintain the brand-building pace
Successful brand-building ads capture the broad-beam attention of the right brain, creating mental shortcuts for brands. Right-brain features, which are associated with emotional response, include:
- Narrative and Characters: Stories with a clear beginning, middle and end, and relatable characters help to create strong emotional bonds with the audience. Brand-owned characters or “fluent devices” are especially powerful and trigger quick brand recognition.
- Implicit Communication & Dialogue: Characters can speak volumes even without dialogue. Knowing glances and gestures drive narratives forward, and are often more powerful than a hard sell. Conversations between characters are also a useful tool for engagement.
- Melodic Music: A song that you can sing or hum can create a lasting impact. Repeatable sonic devices with lyrics or easy-to-follow melodies are a bonus.
- Nostalgia and Cultural Resonance: Leveraging shared memories and cultural touchstones strengthens brand connections. Consider ads that are set in the past or reference other cultural works to evoke positive emotions.
A notable example of aiming for the long and achieving the short is Amazon’s Christmas campaign. With its compelling story, memorable characters, and emotionally rich elements, it captures the attention of both immediate buyers and those who may consider the brand in the future.
Don’t forget about endurance & training
Our findings emphasize that investing in creative, emotionally engaging advertising not only builds lasting brand equity but also drives short-term sales success.
And once you have a brand-building winner, remember the importance of time. After all, it’s how races are scored, how winners are determined and how personal bests are recorded.
You must give your campaign the time it needs to hit its goals. Slow and steady wins the race. Too often, marketers tire of their creative before consumers do. Our own research on wear in and wear out proves this.
So, as we near the finish line of this blog, don’t forget that top advertisers don’t become champions overnight. They often pre-test their creative and keep an eye on how their competitors are faring in the brand-building race.
Fortunately, System1’s Test Your Ad database of more than 100,000 ads allows you to benchmark against other brands in your category and test your own creative with consumers before race day arrives so you can make an impact in both the short term and the long term.