The long-standing belief that marketers must choose between short-term sales and long-term brand health is a false trade-off. Our own campaign analysis shows that the best campaigns deliver now and build for later, an insight backed by a decade of increasingly compelling evidence. And Google’s data backs this up: a mere 1% increase in brand awareness drives a 0.4% lift in short-term sales and a 0.6% lift in long-term sales.
The implication is clear: brand marketing doesn’t just pay off eventually, it pays off now. It turns out the best way to secure the future is to create marketing that works in the present.
The long-term value of brand investment is not a theory, it’s a revalidated truth. Kantar’s BrandZ data shows that brands perceived as both Meaningful and Different grew their value by an average of $12.3 billion since 2006. That’s nearly double the growth of the average brand. The commercial advantage is clear.
But in the moment, how do you know it’s working?
Not every great campaign delivers a sales spike. Sometimes, success means holding your ground or softening a decline. In volatile conditions, a flat sales line or stable share can be a sign of resilience.
And resilience matters. Because our data shows that short-term impact is rarely just a fleeting blip. In fact, two-thirds of ads perform similarly on both brand-building and sales activation. Campaigns that move the needle in the short term almost always lift brand metrics like awareness and consideration. If they don’t, long-term impact is unlikely. It’s a virtuous cycle: strong now usually signals strong later, even if the signal is subtle.
Take Airbnb. After years of performance-led marketing, it launched the emotionally rich “Made Possible by Hosts” campaign and saw a 20% surge in web traffic almost overnight. Bookings rose, and so did brand favourability. Mastercard’s “Priceless” campaign did the same, driving card usage in the short term while embedding the brand in culture for decades. And McDonald’s? Its consistent investment in brand, through emotionally resonant campaigns and culturally relevant activations, has driven immediate sales while reinforcing its long-term positioning as a confident, approachable icon.
Then there’s Cadbury. Its now-iconic “Gorilla” campaign didn’t send sales soaring overnight, but it did halt a decline, nudging sales into modest growth and, more importantly, restoring brand trust and cultural relevance after a crisis. In a tough market, that kind of resilience is a win and a signal of long-term potential.
The takeaway? Immediate upticks and long-term brand growth almost always go hand in hand.
Or, as one marketer put it:
“Marketing and sales are one and the same, only separated by time.”
Let’s start with a simple truth: most marketing models are short-sighted. They track the spike, then stop. If a campaign doesn’t deliver in the first few weeks, it’s deemed a flop. But what if that’s only half the story? When we look beyond the immediate, the real value of media begins to emerge. A social campaign in the beverages category, for instance, was initially credited with just 3.5% of sales. But when long-term brand effects were included, the credit assigned to the campaign more than doubled: over 8% of sales, with three-quarters of that impact coming from brand equity built over time.
The same pattern held for a legacy cinema campaign in the home goods category: its measured impact jumped from 1.8% to 3.8% once long-term brand effects were accounted for.
Please note that this isn’t just a technical correction. When you capture the full arc of media impact, the optimal mix shifts. Channels like digital video or sponsorships, often undervalued for their slower burn, reveal their strength in brand-building. In one case, 75% of a campaign’s total sales impact remained up to 50 weeks after launch. Traditional models would have stopped counting after week four and thus missing the majority of the return. But when you know your media is still working months later, you plan differently. You invest with confidence. You stay the course.
The right media mix isn’t about choosing between now and later, it’s about planning for both, and measuring both. Because only when you measure both, can you truly optimise for both.
Growth doesn’t come from watching a single number. It comes from listening to the full chorus. In today’s data-rich world, the brands that win are those that harmonise their signals - search trends, social sentiment, brand perception, and sales - into one coherent view. No one signal tells the whole story, but together, they surface growth opportunities and predict threats. When a leading food distributor saw trust scores dip in surveys, alongside declines in image attributes like “Good quality ingredients” and “Healthy”, it was only by layering in social listening that the root cause emerged: a spike in complaints about specific ingredient changes. That insight led to swift action and a rebound in trust.
Each metric plays a role. Search interest shows salience. Social sentiment reveals how people feel. Brand favourability shows whether that feeling is translating into preference. CRM and sales data confirm whether interest is converting. When these signals move together, you’re on solid ground.
A beverage brand’s cultural sponsorship drove a 454% spike in mentions and a 15-point jump in sentiment - growth that was later reflected in sales. A premium ice cream brand saw similar results: early buzz around its non-dairy launch in the U.S., combined with category and brand search interest data, flagged unmet demand, prompting international expansion that boosted both distribution and brand relevance.
AI is what makes this orchestration possible. It decodes nuance in reviews, links chatter to brand attributes, and turns unstructured noise into structured insight. In one case, AI flagged “texture” complaints in product reviews as a key driver of dissatisfaction for prepared meals brand. That led to a product tweak and a measurable lift in both sentiment and repeat purchases.
Brand impact is multidimensional; how people feel about a brand, talk about it, search for it, and ultimately buy it are all connected.
Growth doesn’t come from choosing between the now and the future, obsessively watching one metric, or prioritising one channel at the expense of others. It comes from connecting the dots.
The proven formula isn’t just a checklist, it’s a mindset. One that aligns insight with impact, and turns data overload into smarter, more confident decisions.
Investing in Brand works. But how do you know it’s working?
The long-term value of brand investment is not a theory, it’s a revalidated truth. Kantar’s BrandZ data shows that brands perceived as both Meaningful and Different grew their value by an average of $12.3 billion since 2006. That’s nearly double the growth of the average brand. The commercial advantage is clear. But in the moment, how do you know it’s working?
Not every great campaign delivers a sales spike. Sometimes, success means holding your ground or softening a decline. In volatile conditions, a flat sales line or stable share can be a sign of resilience.
And resilience matters. Because our data shows that short-term impact is rarely just a fleeting blip. In fact, two-thirds of ads perform similarly on both brand-building and sales activation. Campaigns that move the needle in the short term almost always lift brand metrics like awareness and consideration. If they don’t, long-term impact is unlikely. It’s a virtuous cycle: strong now usually signals strong later, even if the signal is subtle.
Take Airbnb. After years of performance-led marketing, it launched the emotionally rich “Made Possible by Hosts” campaign and saw a 20% surge in web traffic almost overnight. Bookings rose, and so did brand favourability. Mastercard’s “Priceless” campaign did the same, driving card usage in the short term while embedding the brand in culture for decades. And McDonald’s? Its consistent investment in brand, through emotionally resonant campaigns and culturally relevant activations, has driven immediate sales while reinforcing its long-term positioning as a confident, approachable icon.
Then there’s Cadbury. Its now-iconic “Gorilla” campaign didn’t send sales soaring overnight, but it did halt a decline, nudging sales into modest growth and, more importantly, restoring brand trust and cultural relevance after a crisis. In a tough market, that kind of resilience is a win and a signal of long-term potential.
The takeaway? Immediate upticks and long-term brand growth almost always go hand in hand.
Or, as one marketer put it:
“Marketing and sales are one and the same, only separated by time.”
What’s the optimal media mix and can my data prove it?
Let’s start with a simple truth: most marketing models are short-sighted. They track the spike, then stop. If a campaign doesn’t deliver in the first few weeks, it’s deemed a flop. But what if that’s only half the story? When we look beyond the immediate, the real value of media begins to emerge. A social campaign in the beverages category, for instance, was initially credited with just 3.5% of sales. But when long-term brand effects were included, the credit assigned to the campaign more than doubled: over 8% of sales, with three-quarters of that impact coming from brand equity built over time.
From 3.5% to 8%: the power of long-term brand effects
The same pattern held for a legacy cinema campaign in the home goods category: its measured impact jumped from 1.8% to 3.8% once long-term brand effects were accounted for.
Please note that this isn’t just a technical correction. When you capture the full arc of media impact, the optimal mix shifts. Channels like digital video or sponsorships, often undervalued for their slower burn, reveal their strength in brand-building. In one case, 75% of a campaign’s total sales impact remained up to 50 weeks after launch. Traditional models would have stopped counting after week four and thus missing the majority of the return. But when you know your media is still working months later, you plan differently. You invest with confidence. You stay the course.
The right media mix isn’t about choosing between now and later, it’s about planning for both, and measuring both. Because only when you measure both, can you truly optimise for both.
The winning mix: which metrics signal real growth?
Growth doesn’t come from watching a single number. It comes from listening to the full chorus. In today’s data-rich world, the brands that win are those that harmonise their signals - search trends, social sentiment, brand perception, and sales - into one coherent view. No one signal tells the whole story, but together, they surface growth opportunities and predict threats. When a leading food distributor saw trust scores dip in surveys, alongside declines in image attributes like “Good quality ingredients” and “Healthy”, it was only by layering in social listening that the root cause emerged: a spike in complaints about specific ingredient changes. That insight led to swift action and a rebound in trust. The combination of survey data and social listening can uncover the full story behind brand trust
Each metric plays a role. Search interest shows salience. Social sentiment reveals how people feel. Brand favourability shows whether that feeling is translating into preference. CRM and sales data confirm whether interest is converting. When these signals move together, you’re on solid ground.
A beverage brand’s cultural sponsorship drove a 454% spike in mentions and a 15-point jump in sentiment - growth that was later reflected in sales. A premium ice cream brand saw similar results: early buzz around its non-dairy launch in the U.S., combined with category and brand search interest data, flagged unmet demand, prompting international expansion that boosted both distribution and brand relevance.
AI is what makes this orchestration possible. It decodes nuance in reviews, links chatter to brand attributes, and turns unstructured noise into structured insight. In one case, AI flagged “texture” complaints in product reviews as a key driver of dissatisfaction for prepared meals brand. That led to a product tweak and a measurable lift in both sentiment and repeat purchases.
From insight to impact
Brand impact is multidimensional; how people feel about a brand, talk about it, search for it, and ultimately buy it are all connected. Growth doesn’t come from choosing between the now and the future, obsessively watching one metric, or prioritising one channel at the expense of others. It comes from connecting the dots.
The proven formula isn’t just a checklist, it’s a mindset. One that aligns insight with impact, and turns data overload into smarter, more confident decisions.
