Brandformance is the combination of the power of brand building and performance in communication strategies. This method is flexible and comprehensive, offering maximum benefits to businesses both in the short and long term.

In addition, the Banking – Finance sector in Vietnam is booming, particularly in the field of Marketing, with the strong spread of digital technology. How is the creative Brandformance strategy, combined with Big Data, artificial intelligence (AI), and personalized customer experiences, being driven by changing consumer needs in this industry?

1. Banking – Finance businesses applying Innovative Marketing in Brandformance strategies

In the era of digital banking, innovative marketing activities revolve around using strategies on digital platforms, social media, and mobile apps. These tools play a crucial role, enabling targeted and precisely analyzed campaigns.

However, a report from Kantar indicates that brands risk declining sales if they focus too much on performance marketing while neglecting brand building. From 2019 to 2021, brands with increasing brand equity saw a 72% rise in brand value compared to only 20% for those with decreasing brand equity.

Allocating the majority or the entire budget to focus on PERFORMANCE mostly helps reach bottom-of-the-funnel customers—those with direct needs. This leads to several disadvantages for the brand:

• A significant decrease in the number of qualified leads.
• The conversion rate gradually declines over time.
• Selling to potential customers before they develop a need, making them uncomfortable.

On the other hand, allocating the majority or the entire budget to focus on BRANDING allows the brand to widen its funnel at the conversion stage, but it misses the opportunity to generate short-term revenue.

Therefore, Brandformance is the combination of these two elements in a single strategy, created to address the challenge of balancing short-term and long-term benefits. To successfully implement a Brandformance strategy, Novaon Digital emphasizes three key factors:

• Messages clearly derived from the target audience.
• Decisions based on data, data analysis, AI, and personalized customer experiences.
• The integration of creative marketing (Creative Marketing) and technological marketing (Technology Marketing), with both factors prioritized.

Brandformance is a strategy that promises to attract the attention of many businesses starting in 2023 to address the balance between brand building and performance optimization, bringing long-term benefits to companies.

1. Definition, Origin, and Importance of Brandformance

In the digital environment, users encounter thousands of pieces of content every day. Their attention span is continuously shrinking. It can be said that users are increasingly distracted by the abundance and allure of various digital content formats. Furthermore, numerous digital platforms are constantly evolving and expanding, continuously testing algorithms that pose greater challenges for businesses in attracting their target customers.

The common difficulties facing the economy in 2023 are putting significant pressure on many businesses, leading many leaders to prioritize achieving short-term sales goals. From this strategy, companies focus on optimizing marketing costs and expect to see quick results from their implemented campaigns. Businesses are increasing investments in formats such as sales advertising, prioritizing high return on investment (ROI), and looking for rapid results.

However, companies are also aware that profits from advertising are an approach that only serves short-term needs. Therefore, establishing a marketing strategy that balances short-term and long-term benefits has become more urgent than ever.

Brandformance emerged as a method to balance and optimize both short-term and long-term benefits for businesses. This approach combines branding and performance in communication strategies. While branding is used to establish an attractive and distinctive appearance for a brand or product in the market to attract and retain customers, performance focuses on stimulating sales and popularity, while keeping customer acquisition costs as low as possible.

2. What does the LEVI effect explain about how to implement Brandformance?

Imagine separating the activities of brand building and performance marketing and placing these two activities on a graph with one axis representing time and the other representing the effectiveness of the company’s marketing activities.

A phase in the implementation process will consist of four steps:

• L – Lift-up: Optimistic about market prospects.
• E – Effectless: Activities begin to trend toward saturation, gradually losing effectiveness.
• V – Vague: The team questions the reasons for failure and explores alternative methods.
• I – Illuminated: New methods are tested and prove effective, leading to strong implementation.

And the cycle continues.

LEVI – Exclusive model from Novaon Digital explains the effectiveness of Brandformance

The graph illustrates the trend line of brand value and performance ROI, corresponding to the individual activities of brand building and performance marketing.

If we place this in the context of a company implementing these activities simultaneously, the characteristics of the two activities are as follows:

• Performance ROI increases rapidly during the Lift-up phase. Brand value also rises but at a slower pace. The effectiveness of performance ROI is much more evident compared to brand value. At the peak of performance ROI, the effectiveness of brand value is visibly lower and tends to plateau (but is not yet saturated) before performance ROI reaches its maximum.

• From the Effectless phase to the Vague phase, performance ROI tends to decrease rapidly, while brand value remains stable (flat), and even shows a slight upward trend toward the end.

• From the Vague phase to the Illuminated phase, performance ROI continues to drop to its lowest point. Upon reaching the starting point of the Illuminated phase, performance ROI begins to increase again. During this phase, brand value continues to rise and shows better effectiveness than performance ROI.

Therefore:

Investing in increasing brand value yields more sustainable results than focusing solely on performance ROI.

Combining these two activities simultaneously through the “Brandformance” method will provide optimal effectiveness for the business.

When implementing Brandformance, metrics traditionally associated with performance can also be effectively used to measure brand health (branding). Below is an example of website metrics in the banking sector.

3. Why many large companies will strive to implement brandformance from 2023

Apple’s Actions Since the Release of iOS 14

User privacy protection is becoming a crucial trend at the moment. Apple has taken the lead in implementing new privacy policies through their actions concerning IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) in iOS. According to various predictions, the percentage of users who agree to share their IDFA with advertisers does not exceed 10%.

Since the release of iOS 14, the restriction on accessing IDFA has been a significant blow to the advertising system. When users decline to share their IDFA, advertisers are unable to track actions such as clicks, downloads, sign-ups, and purchases. This poses a disadvantage, as the inability to monitor user interactions with ads makes it difficult for marketers to measure their effectiveness, leading to wasted budgets on ads targeting disinterested audiences.

Changes in Advertising Algorithms on Major Platforms (Facebook, Google, etc.)

Major platforms like Facebook and Google are continuously updating their algorithms to prioritize content from friends over content from brands. This forces businesses to increase their advertising budgets. A cycle is created where marketers find themselves “drained” in both budget and energy while managing ads on these large platforms.

Compared to 2020-2021, advertising on Facebook is now much more restricted. One noticeable aspect is that in the past, simply having anyone’s phone number or email and entering it in Facebook’s search bar would yield their profile, but that is no longer the case. For example, previously, spending 15 million VND would get you 158,000 impressions. Now, you have to spend at least 20-25 million VND to achieve the same number of impressions. The cost of advertising on Facebook has increased by 5-10% if you want to achieve the same effectiveness as in previous years.

KhGoogle’s algorithm is also reducing visibility, forcing businesses to run more ads and spend more money. Companies are now competing directly for both organic search results and paid search traffic.

Towards Sustainable Marketing

Separating performance advertising from branding is not a sustainable long-term strategy because:

• Over-reliance on Ads: Relying solely on advertising to attract as many customers as possible can negatively impact brand image and customer perception.
• Missed Opportunities: It leads to missed opportunities to attract quality customers through indirect “organic” channels, which are more subtle in their advertising nature.
• Resource Allocation Issues: Companies struggle to allocate resources effectively for two separate strategies, leading to budget waste.
• Incomplete Assessments: This approach can result in inadequate evaluations of brand growth.

Brandformance perfectly addresses the challenge of balancing short-term and long-term goals by establishing a foundation for sustainable business growth while achieving key performance indicators. Brandformance enables companies to simultaneously communicate continuously with their target audience and build a strong brand presence, ultimately improving the overall ROI of their marketing campaigns.

Positive Impacts of the Brandformance Strategy

Brandformance brings numerous positive impacts to businesses, including increased brand awareness, building customer trust, and subsequently improving conversion rates. When a brand effectively connects and shapes its image, customers can easily perceive it as trustworthy, leading to quicker and easier purchasing decisions.

Additionally, by optimizing brand building based on performance metrics, the Brandformance strategy helps save resources and marketing budgets. This results in improved cost-effectiveness and higher profit margins.

4. Typical examples of brandformance implementation

Let’s follow the case study of the hair dye brand from Indonesia, Hello Bubble below:

Hello Bubble has built a Brandformance strategy and achieved impressive metrics: attracting 32,000 participants on TikTok, recording an 18.1% increase in brand recall among the target audience, and a 700% increase in total transaction value within one month. So, what did this brand do?

Hello Bubble launched a store on TikTok Shop to simultaneously enhance brand awareness (branding) while engaging users and increasing revenue (performance). They utilized brand ambassador Blackpink to visually showcase the hair dye colors to users. The brand created stickers and effects on TikTok and encouraged users to use these effects in their own videos. Additionally, various advertising formats, including viral videos with KOL collaborations, TopView ads, and Reach & Frequency (R&F), were employed to amplify the spread of videos using the effects created by Hello Bubble.

Target Audience Messaging

A deep understanding of the target customers is the first factor for an effective Brandformance strategy. Businesses need to grasp customer needs, desires, and how they interact with the brand to deliver appropriate messaging.

Many Brandformance campaigns start with customer surveys, asking specific questions such as:

• What influences your decision to purchase?
• What do you find special about your shopping experience with our brand?
• What aspects of our product do you find most satisfying?
• How does our product help you solve your problem?

Customer feedback is far more valuable than advertisers hypothesizing customer needs and wants.

Data-Driven Decisions and Analytics

Using data and analytics to monitor campaign performance will help businesses understand how customers respond and adjust their strategies in real time. Data not only shortens the decision-making process but also aids in effective budget allocation, especially for Brandformance.

For instance, a Brandformance campaign employing targeted content testing allows marketers to frequently monitor which content is performing well based on data. This enables them to scale successful content that has already proven effective. This content testing approach, developed by Meta, has proven effective in increasing ROI, shortening the time to create effective ads, and reducing costs associated with underperforming advertisements.

Constant Innovation and Adaptation

Optimization and adaptation are essential to keep pace with the continuous changes in the market, technology, and target customer groups. Businesses need to regularly review and adjust their Brandformance strategies to ensure they continue to achieve desired results. Let’s look at a case study where a brand focuses on innovation and adaptation in its Brandformance strategy:

At the end of the year, the retail sector receives a lot of customer attention. As a distributor of sleep products, Vua Nem aimed to attract more customers to purchase premium mattresses during this peak season. Additionally, Vua Nem sought to enhance its branding effectiveness to gain a competitive edge in a strong market and create a gap with its competitors.

Guiding Principle of Performance Culture in Decision-Making

To make quick and highly accurate decisions, a business needs to build, maintain, and develop a performance culture over time. This culture has helped the marketing team continuously generate creative ideas in a short period while ensuring that the decisions made are data-driven and precise.

At this point, imagine a system of barriers on a highway. The highway allows you to drive at high speeds to reach your destination quickly. The barriers provide a clear framework within which you can navigate. If needed, you can change lanes at any time. What remains constant is the direction and high speed at which you are moving.

Similarly, a performance culture acts as a system of barriers for decisions regarding campaign expansion. It provides a clear framework within which decisions can be made without requiring significant adjustments. The benefit of this “barrier” is time savings. For example, when a brand considers “jumping on a trend” on TikTok, it’s crucial to recognize that trends often end much faster than the time many companies spend evaluating whether they want to participate. Performance, in other words, is about pursuing goals, prioritizing speed and effectiveness.

5. How businesses can improve their Brandformance capabilities

Investing Heavily in an In-House Team

To successfully implement Brandformance, businesses need a well-rounded in-house team comprising experts in various areas: market analysis, data analysis, content creation, performance marketing, design, and more. However, it is crucial that team members are strong in their ability to collaborate, understand, and be familiar with the roles of other members, as Brandformance campaigns often require a high level of integration between creativity and technology.

Building a strong in-house team demands time, effort, and significant investment, but it allows businesses to better control the Brandformance process and make necessary adjustments to ensure they meet their business objectives.

Preparing a Budget for Brandformance

Brandformance campaigns typically require a budget for integrated communication activities, such as advertising, social media channel development, hiring influencers (KOLs), and organizing events. To achieve both brand and performance goals, businesses need to allocate their budget reasonably across each category and according to a specific timeline. This approach will help businesses control resources when executing campaigns.

Brandformance is not a short-term strategy; it needs to be maintained and continuously improved over time. Preparing a budget in advance ensures that the business can sustain long-term Brandformance activities.

Finding an Agency Partner with Strong Brandformance Capabilities

When first implementing a Brandformance strategy, businesses are likely to encounter mistakes and failures due to various reasons, including a lack of experience and resources. At this stage, seeking a reputable agency partner can help avoid unnecessary risks and losses for the following main reasons:

• Agencies Have Specialized Resources to Support Businesses Holistically: Agencies typically have access to a wide range of expertise and resources that can enhance a company’s Brandformance efforts.
• Reducing Time and Optimizing Goal Achievement Rates: Agencies have established processes for analysis and research, allowing them to expedite the campaign setup and execution.
• Agencies Can Evaluate Advertising Channels Transparently and Objectively: They can provide insights based on the performance of each channel, ensuring that businesses make informed decisions.
• Agencies Can Respond to Platform Changes Effectively: With techniques and experiences that have been continuously tested, agencies are better equipped to adapt to shifts in advertising platforms.

One secret to finding the ideal agency for implementing Brandformance is ensuring that they cover all three elements: Strategy, Creative, and Technology, in their service offerings. They know exactly how to combine these elements effectively and can explain the respective processes in detail to the business.

6. Wrapping Up: The Future of Brandformance and Branding

Brandformance will really become the marketing trend of the digital age. Therefore, businesses that want to build a brand image while achieving good results in terms of revenue need to start doing Brandformance right now.

When companies prioritize sales goals, they may struggle to be remembered, reducing their ability to reach new audiences. Conversely, over-prioritizing brand goals can lead to significant costs in brand building while hindering growth. This article, referencing Kantar’s research, aims to provide a more nuanced perspective on this perennial issue.

When Prioritizing Sales Goals, Companies Risk Being Forgotten

In Summary: Is branding or focusing on numbers and growth more important?

The CEO expects Marketing to drive short-term sales, evidenced by the numerous internal meetings created solely to answer the question, “Why aren’t we generating sales?” “Marketing for sales” is essentially known as performance, sales, or activation marketing (for example, promotional programs) aimed at achieving revenue efficiency.

In 2023, due to the notable impacts of economic fluctuations, a company’s ability to see profits from every dollar spent on marketing has become a decisive factor in the short term. Facing tough conditions, up to 48% of the global Marketing teams surveyed by Kantar reported that they are investing in promotional activities to attract customers rather than in brand building or more abstract concepts like optimizing customer experience. This is very dangerous.

In essence, it cannot be denied that digital advertising has evolved significantly. Instead of simply introducing products, describing their uses, and persuading purchases, modern digital advertising has a greater mission: representing the voice of the brand. In other words, digital advertising—this potential media channel—can achieve more than just selling stories.

The Importance of Long-Term Brand Building

Branding has become part of daily life, the experience of the masses, and a component of culture. Building a brand is more closely related to the sales story. Most importantly, brand building must make the brand stand out compared to competitors and facilitate consumer choice.

A famous case study in long-term brand building is Airbnb. In recent years, Airbnb has made significant changes to its marketing strategy. Since 2019, the company has sought to rely less on search advertising, focusing instead on marketing forms that have good virality and emphasizing public relations to strengthen its brand. Airbnb has actively communicated news about its business operations and has run television ads. Brands like Airbnb have become stronger, broader, and capable of continuing to exist with us for many years to come.

Dissecting Global Marketer Perspectives

A serious study conducted by Kantar (2021) aimed to find the key answer: What is the most important factor in measuring ROI—performance marketing, brand building, or a combination of both?

While 86% of marketers believe that the combination of both is necessary, only 63% of them report that they ACTUALLY MEASURE the effectiveness of campaigns based on both types of data.

The perennial story: measuring digital marketing campaigns in organizations. In many companies, measurement simply involves counting clicks and checking if sales have increased. While an increase in clicks is a positive signal, this metric is too basic to ascertain whether the money spent on marketing is truly effective.

The lack of research in digital advertising activities and the reliance on surface-level metrics like click counts have caused digital advertising to evolve primarily as a tool for performance. Given its low cost and immediate visible returns, using digital advertising in this manner can lead to a lack of a holistic view and strategic vision.

Another issue arises from the average tenure of a marketer—typically 2 to 3 years—which has sparked debate in many companies about whether to invest in a permanent Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) position. With new and attractive job opportunities on platforms like LinkedIn, a marketing role often doesn’t stay long enough to see the results of long-term strategies. As a result, marketers feel the pressure to demonstrate their abilities through quick achievements or results before moving on to their next position.

Is it possible to achieve brand building and performance marketing objectives simultaneously?

Assuming the goal of an advertisement is to achieve both branding and performance objectives, what would the weighting of each outcome be? Looking at data collected by Kantar over the past five years, it indicates a strong correlation between brand building and performance marketing.

Two-thirds of advertisements perform similarly in both areas. Very few ads excel significantly in one aspect while performing poorly in the other.

Evidence shows that ads successful in the short term still perform well in the long term, and vice versa. The key lies in the brand’s focus on brand building when developing advertisements.

It is especially important to not lose sight of long-term objectives, even when producing ads aimed at short-term results.

What Would Advertising That Achieves Both Outcomes Look Like?

Analyzing a dataset of 50,000 ads targeted at consumers over the past five years, several potential factors have been identified that help digital ads perform effectively in both branding and performance aspects (Source: Kantar).

1. Product or Brand Variations: Successful ads often showcase the product or brand in various forms. The top 5% of ads that excel in both branding and performance tend to provide more information about the product, including demonstrations of use, specific ingredients, or materials.
2. Brand Placement: The brand should be introduced early in the first few seconds of the ad. This helps establish brand recognition and sets the stage for the audience.
3. Wordplay: Incorporating humor through wordplay in ads increases engagement metrics and enhances the overall performance of the advertisement.
4. Trendy Influencer Marketing: The effectiveness of using celebrity influencers is particularly noticeable when reputable or well-known personalities are featured in ads. Their presence can significantly boost the impact of the campaign.

Important: Focusing on Brand Building Increases ROMI

While performance-focused advertising can show direct increases in ROI, a stronger emphasis on brand building has been proven to enhance ROMI, which is a more direct metric in marketing discussions.

ROMI measures the revenue generated by a marketing campaign relative to the costs incurred to run that campaign. It is calculated using the formula:

ROMI = (Marketing Income – Cost of Goods – Marketing Spend)/Marketing Spend * 100

Solving Problems with AI Assistants

The future of advertising shows promising potential for ensuring both brand identity and performance flexibly.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the capability to create dynamic content, allowing for the adjustment of ads during their execution. This integration facilitates a seamless combination of branding and performance content while enabling effective measurement. The ability to modify an advertisement in real-time—such as adding or removing offers or changing messages targeted at users—will ensure that both aspects are effectively represented in a single ad.

A successful example of a campaign that builds brand identity while showcasing sales techniques is McDonald’s ‘Hungry Eyes’ campaign. This advertisement does not aggressively prompt customers with a call-to-action; instead, it subtly reminds viewers that, thanks to the McDonald’s app, their favorite meals can be delivered at any time. This clever approach effectively boosts sales.

Understanding the strengths and influencing factors of digital advertising enables marketing teams to optimize their communication and advertising strategies, aligning with the significance of both sales objectives and brand building.