A recent eMarketer survey revealed that 56 percent of global brands have experienced improved outcomes by breaking down the conventional barriers between branding and performance and opting for a combined approach known as ‘brandformance’.
This strategy can be crucial to the MENA market, which is characterised by fierce competition and a deeply digital landscape.
Flowwow doubled its MENA region growth year-on-year by embracing ‘brandformance’ in the five ways outlined below.
1. Evaluate current channels and allot performance budget
Before diving in, assess your current performance in marketing channels.
Analyse their effectiveness across platforms and how resources are allocated. Determine how much of your marketing budget you’ll dedicate to testing and expanding ‘brandformance’ initiatives.
2. Dive into metrics
Social media and influencer marketing are two primary ‘brandformance’ channels.
In 2023 alone, influencer campaigns generated $2.7 million. Social media has emerged as one of our most effective ‘brandformance’ tools. We seamlessly blend the brand image aspects of our collaborations with measurable metrics like CPM, CAC, and app installations.
Consider conducting geographically-specific analyses across cities or countries to assess shifts in organic traffic patterns, conversion rate enhancements, and CTR improvements within performance channels.
A comprehensive ‘brandformance’ and performance metric evaluation is highly recommended.
3. Select the right platform
Here’s a breakdown of some popular platforms and their key considerations:
- TikTok: lower CPMs, easier campaign launches, and a younger audience. Integrating sales mechanics and promotional codes can hinder reach, so focus on brand awareness campaigns.
- Instagram: while boasting a higher CPV compared to TikTok, Instagram offers a more mature and solvent audience. It allows for integrating links and promo codes, and facilitates cross-promotion with bloggers and other brands. Additionally, users have a more established shopping pattern on Instagram than on TikTok.
- YouTube: enables in-depth product demonstrations and storytelling through influencer collaboration. Links and codes can be incorporated into video descriptions.
4. Balance Branding and Performance Budgets Wisely
Budgeting toward brand building should always come first. However, performance marketing often takes the lead due to its rapid results, data-driven nature, and focus on profitability metrics like ROI and CRR.
Brand placement in new markets should be initiated upon observing positive performance trends. At Flowwow, after 2 years of operating in the UAE, our budget is 20% brand and 80% performance.
After establishing a presence, brand investment increases.
5. Constantly update and refine your processes
Maintaining ‘brandformance’ requires a commitment to perpetual optimisation. Leveraging tools like Google Search Console, SKadNetwork, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and social media platform analytics to keep process data up-to-date.
This allows for meticulous audience selection and tailored messaging, informed by ongoing campaign monitoring, to resonate with customer preferences. This translates to boosted conversions, loyalty, and lower acquisition costs.
‘Brandformance’ goes beyond awareness. It uses key metrics like sales through tracked links, unique channel codes, organic search ranking, and share-of-voice. This data continuously refines strategies for maximum impact.
By Irina Tatarinova, Brand Director at Flowwow.
