CMOs hate being asked whether they’re right-brained or left-brained.
It’s an “annoying question” because the answer is “both,” said Andrea Brimmer, CMO of Ally Financial, speaking at the Possible conference in Miami last week.
Although brand marketing is often considered to be “squishy,” with no direct connection to sales or conversions, that’s not the case, Brimmer said.
To drive results, advertisers should rely on a combination of brand marketing and performance marketing. Marketers know this intuitively, but the empirical evidence has been lacking.
Without hard numbers, though, marketers can’t defend spending on so-called softer tactics, especially during an economic downturn with the CFO breathing down their neck and pushing for cuts.
Brand as ally
In 2021, Ally launched the largest branding campaign in the company’s history, which included national TV spots, more than 700 out-of-home placements and a series of homepage takeovers.
The goal was to establish Ally as “an ally” for all the moments in someone’s life when they may need help managing their money, whether that’s renovating a home, getting married or just going out to a fancy dinner.
Last year, Ally embarked on a long-term “BaP” (brand as performance) study with the MMA to prove that its brand campaign was also a key driver of performance.
Ally’s thesis was that making a significant investment in brand creative would lead to account sign-ups when done in concert with performance tactics, like paid search and paid social.
Over the course of nine months, Brimmer and her team worked with TransUnion and research company Dynata to run surveys and determine the impact of its brand campaign on favorability, including whether people perceive Ally as having easy-to-use products they would consider in the future.
People exposed to the campaign had higher favorability scores than those who weren’t and became six times more likely to open one or more accounts with Ally. Over time, 73% of “favorables” converted, whereas only 13% of people who didn’t see the brand ads went on to convert.
The takeaway is clear, Brimmer said. The more favorable people are, the likelier they are to act.
Ally also noted a 7% lift in favorability among people who hadn’t ever banked with Ally before after being exposed to the creative campaign.
“Think about it like an annuity that grows over time,” Brimmer said. “Simply by exposing people to brand creative on a repeated basis creates favorability and growth.”
The handoff
Performance tactics also have a key role to play. The point, Brimmer said, is that performance marketing is more effective when it’s woven into a broader strategy that also includes branding efforts.
For example, reaching people who are already favorable to a brand with more pointed calls to action can help reduce the overall cost of customer acquisition (CAC).
Ally saw an 87% reduction in its CAC when it targeted people who were already aware of and well-disposed to its brand.
By looking at multi-touch attribution data, which involves assigning fractional credit to all the touch points in a given customer journey, Ally found that brand tactics had a part to play in driving the majority – around 70% – of its account acquisitions.
That’s why Ally “plays the long game,” Brimmer said.
“The handoff from brand to actual acquisition emanates through most of our growth,” she said. “You need short-term tactics, but building a long-term plan for investment is exceptionally important.”
