Consumer attention on mobile doesn’t differentiate between brand and direct response (DR) ads: Everything is a brand experience, and everything is about performance.

Many advertisers today struggle to balance short-term sales activation with long-term brand growth. And while both are critical to marketing success, traditionally these strategies have been viewed as distinct. Often, performance marketing/DR and brand teams are in their own silos, with their own budgets and their own distinct – and perhaps conflicting – goals and priorities.

But advertisers who adopt the strategy of performance branding – driving performance outcomes while simultaneously building strong, consistent and memorable brands – can drive significant value and bridge the gap between brand and DR.

The branding really matters – Building brand in performance campaigns

Facebook platforms due to their high audience engagement, help deliver holistic marketing value. Advertisers running DR campaigns can drive conversions while simultaneously building brand awareness at scale.

It is critical for advertisers to establish brand identity in their creative when seeking to build brand through DR campaigns. The branding – clearly embedding the name of the specific product in the consumer’s mind – is what will help promote the individual brand instead of the generic category.

Ensuring brand identity is especially important for:

• Brands that are new and young to the market;
• Brands in a crowded and competitive marketplace with strong established competitors.

Also, DR campaigns on Facebook can drive both performance outcomes and brand outcomes. But doing so effectively still requires good execution: To meet their goals, advertisers should pay close attention to how well optimized their creative is for mobile and how clearly their branding is conveyed.

Mobile-first creative is key

Key to driving brand awareness through DR media is optimizing campaigns for mobile. Advertisers who build creative assets for mobile experiences see better performance across areas such as brand awareness, brand familiarity and ad recall.

What it means for marketers

• Utilize mobile-first creative and recognizable branding – Use Best Practices such as leading with strong branding in the first three seconds of the ad and keeping videos under 15 seconds.
• Continue to test and learn – To understand how DR campaigns drive performance and brand awareness, advertisers should run tests and learn from results.