Here’s the problem:
The word ‘marketing’ is a big word.
The term encompasses dang near half of the activities you could undertake as a business owner. Everything from setting up a new email promotion to refreshing your logo can be considered marketing.
Types of Marketing: Branding vs Direct Response
You can divide marketing tactics into two very distinct categories:
Branding – Creating a unique image, feeling and/or design in the mind of customers and prospects.
Direct Response – Eliciting a specific and measured response to a clear call-to-action.
Let’s look at an example of each type of marketing.
This marketing message is pure branding:
Notice that this advertisement isn’t asking you to do anything at all. The purpose of this ad is to simply associate the product (Sprite) with a famous person (Lebron James) in your mind. As a result of this branding, the company (Coca-Cola) expects to sell more Sprite.
On the other hand, this is an example of a direct response advertisement for the same product (soda):
Same product, very different marketing tactics. Here are some differences between these two marketing campaigns:
1) The branding example is much more expensive – How much do you think it costs to hire Lebron James as a spokesperson?
2) The direct response example is much more measurable – I can measure two important things in this second advertisement. 1) How many people put the code in to receive a “buy-one-get-one-free” coupon? 2) How many people redeemed the coupon?
3) The direct response example has a deadline – This campaign lasts until 11/23 (as shown in the fine print) at which point measurements can be taken to determine the effectiveness of the campaign.
See the difference? If you don’t, go back and read through that section again. This is critical stuff. The truth is you need both kinds of marketing, but never forget that they are very different and require different skill sets.
So, which are you? Are you more one than the other? Hit the reply button and tell us your allegiances. 🙂
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