2 min. reading

Long-term Strategy in Marketing: Research Shows 60% ROI Boost

Research by WARC and Google provides recommendations on achieving sustainable growth across the entire marketing funnel. The recipe involves balanced investments in Marketing Mix Modelling (MMM), attribution, and artificial intelligence. These tools help understand complex connections between marketing activities and business results, both in the short and long term.

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Long-term Strategy in Marketing: Research Shows 60% ROI Boost
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Optimise Your Marketing Budget

According to Ipsos’ meta-analysis focusing on e-commerce brands, an optimal marketing budget allocation with 50-60% invested in brand building brings significant advantages. This approach can maximise returns, as prioritising short-term goals at the expense of long-term brand building leads to neglecting potential revenue generated in the upper and middle funnel.

Comparing EU brand ecommerce

Source: WARC

From Binary Approach to Integration

WARC recommends that marketers move away from the traditional budget split between brand and performance and invest in marketing across the entire funnel. According to a Nielsen study conducted for Google, a 1% increase in brand awareness leads to a 0.6% increase in long-term sales along with a 0.4% increase in short-term sales. The research also found that a 1% increase in purchase intent leads to a 0.7% increase in short-term sales and a 0.2% increase in long-term sales. This interconnection between brand and performance activities suggests that focusing exclusively on short-term ROI may overlook significant media returns generated through long-term brand building.

Media effect on sales

Source: WARC

Why is Marketing Mix Modelling Key?

MMM is experiencing a renaissance as a tool that provides an integrated view of media investments. It helps optimise budget allocation across channels, establish benchmarks, and inform strategic planning. E-commerce marketers can choose between internal or external models based on their specific needs and expertise. Combining MMM with attribution and experimentation provides a robust framework for optimising investments and testing insights.

AI as a Driver of Faster and More Accurate Decision-making

AI in marketing enables rapid, detailed insights that help marketers adapt budgets dynamically to meet both current and long-term goals. AI enables continuous insight gathering and efficient resource management, which is crucial for businesses in the rapidly changing digital environment.

Holistic Approach to Strategy

While long-term media effects are key to brand growth and profit maximisation, focusing solely on short-term ROI risks missing crucial brand-building opportunities. Therefore, an integrated strategy balancing both short and long-term goals ultimately drives sustainable growth and competitive advantage.

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