Keeping brands profitable means going back to the basics with top-of-funnel activity
by Amanda Blackman
Brands are feeling some whiplash these days when it comes to consumer behavior. Where just a handful of years ago consumers were throwing around cash without a care, today they’re much more nuanced and less predictable in their post-Covid, inflation-cautious, anxiety-ridden spending.
Of course, brand performance, alongside consumer behavior, is constantly evolving. But one thing has become startlingly clear: We need to resist the instinct to lean only on the tactics that are easiest to measure, such as conversion-based digital media spends (Google, social media ads, etc.) at the expense of a full-funnel strategy.
Here’s the thing: A conversion-centric strategy alone is simply not effective in the current landscape.
In recent weeks, I’ve had conversations with executives at four major U.S. brands, each facing alarmingly declining sales and reduced ROAS year over year. “We ran some awareness media a few years ago, so everyone should be aware of us now,” one marketing director told me. “We’ve moved on to the conversion phase.”
These are famous last words. After working to create awareness when they launched, each of these brands pivoted their advertising efforts to rely almost exclusively on investing in conversion-based digital media. This oversimplification of consumer behavior caused all of them to fail, vastly underestimating the need to build brand recognition, intrigue, and recall.
Awareness media refers to strategies and channels designed to build brand recognition among a broad audience. Awareness channels include TV commercials, out-of-home placements, digital takeovers, and, I’d argue, influencer collaborations.
Key characteristics include a broad reach, high visibility, repetition, emotional appeal, and a focus on messaging/positioning. Awareness media evangelizes the brand without persistently drilling into product specifics.
This is exactly why awareness media plays a significant role in a brand’s marketing funnel. And this holds true throughout the entire life of a brand. Here’s why:
Awareness campaigns are fundamentally designed to increase reach. This creates foundational awareness that deepens brand recognition, thus supercharging future marketing efforts and allowing conversion media to work harder when in market.
You can’t fill a funnel from the bottom; effective campaigns must entice a steady flow of new prospects. A 2019 study by the Advertising Research Foundation found that brands investing in a balanced media mix, which includes awareness campaigns, saw 24% higher sales from their media spend compared to those focusing on performance marketing channels alone.
Continuous exposure through awareness media builds brand recognition and recall. This is vital for brands in competitive verticals, where it’s essential to stay top of mind. According to a recent report by Solomon Partners, between 50% and 90% of consumers who saw a high-impact OOH ad could recall the specific messaging days later. This retention rate far surpasses digital or mobile conversion ads.
Impressions don’t matter if nobody is impressed—consumers have become bombarded with digital ads hawking products. Attention spans wane within nanoseconds if something intriguing doesn’t catch their eyes. In contrast, trumpeting your messaging through awareness media can break through the noise by presenting your brand via high-impact, creative formats.
Let’s be clear: I’m not saying that digital-based conversion media is irrelevant. It is, in fact, a critical piece of the marketing engine, offering unparalleled targeting and measurable performance. It should not exist, however, as an isolated marketing strategy. Conversion-based digital channels may work in the short term, but they do little to fuel long-term growth.
So think of awareness media as an investment—one crucial part to keeping your brand visible, memorable, and at the top of potential customers’ minds.