Can brand and direct response marketers work together to grow the bottom line? Can brand awareness be measured with direct response style digital campaigns? I think yes.
Digital media keeps marketers honest. There is either engagement or there is not. Let’s say your “digital media campaign” consists of display (measure click throughs), email marketing (measure delivered, opens, clicks and possibly completed landing page forms), paid search (measure impressions, clicks, time on landing page, completed forms). Okay. Also Facebook – a paid media spend, sponsored story. Are you with me?
If, clicks and views, shares and completed forms, are indeed engagement, which it seems they are, than a solid direct response campaign should indeed generate sincere brand engagement.
Many see direct response as simply executed and measured. You can design a full researched, creative, effective ad, that happens to be measured in a direct response style. Multiple campaigns within a myriad of digital media types create measurable brand awareness.
Face it, the nature, maybe the best nature of the web is the ability to gain a measured response, be it a read article, a click, a filled out form. How is this not creating awareness for your brand and products? Surely a “one hit wonder” and is not going to have the awareness result you seek. But a multi campaign, well designed set of ads can gain both a measurable “direct response” and the brand awareness you seek.Direct response should not nix brand marketing or visa versa.
Jason Falls explains it well in is article, “Understanding the Direct vs Brand Marketing Conflict” on Social Media Explorer:
“The direct marketer looks at brand marketing and says, “We shouldn’t do that because it doesn’t convert as well.” But if the direct marketer looks at brand marketing as communications that creates an easier environment for him to convert – something that aides his efforts – then an organization becomes more efficient.”
What do you think? Can Brand and DR folks live in harmony? What prevents it from your view?