Brand Awareness vs Lead Gen

Everything old is new again.

I just read a promotion for a webinar with the title:

“Brand Awareness vs. Lead Gen: Battle or Balance?”

The host is Linked In.

Two panelists and a host are going to debate the question.

I hope they can bring some analytics to bear as was the case years ago when Rosen/Brown Direct delved into this question.

Rosen and Brown built a world-class Direct Marketing agency in Portland Oregon.

I was proud to have them for a client.

On the back of a napkin

Richard (Rosen) and Bill (Brown) told me about sitting in a local watering hole and trying to figure out a way to discuss and ultimately measure the impact of specific direct marketing versus brand (awareness) techniques in advertising.

One day at lunch over pastrami sandwiches and a local lager they hit on what came to be called the “brand/direct scale.” Later it would become known as “The Velocity Scale”

Here’s what it looked like on the back of the napkin:

They saw the difference as all or nothing. Advertisers either believed in Brand or they thought making a sale was more important. That had been their experience in pursuing new business. It was continuing to play out that way even when they could show incredible results for clients like Disney, Lucent and TaylorMade.

So the brand scale went from 100% (a photo and a couple of words (think perfume) to long copy that romanced the product or service in emotional terms. On the other side of the coin direct went from an explosion in a type factory to ever more sophisticated offers.

What if it is both?

In the era when the internet was just beginning we began looking at ways to do multi-variant testing. We envisioned digital capabilities that would shorten test cycles to hours instead of weeks. Our discussions with the top digital group in town were eye-rolling to say the least. I led the discussions and kept dumming down what we were looking for until we got to A/B split testing which we had to explain. At that point, the partners and I agreed silently that it was time to leave.

The profit is in understanding the cycle

Everything that precedes the sale is Prospect Relationship Management, everything after, Customer Relationship Management. These days we call the complete cycle Contact Relationship Management.

Convergence Marketing

If a prospect is not aware of your product or service they will not even begin to look at your solution to their problem. If all you do is try to sell them without understanding their concerns you will have difficulty finding enough of them to stay in business.

The language, both verbal and visual, needs to be tested to determine what works.

That got done.There is a direct correlation between the amount of brand and direct in any ad whether it is broadcast, print or digital. Anyone can apply the rules. Anyone can become a smarter marketer. Anyone. 

Richard wrote a book about it.

It is called: Convergence Marketing Combining Brand and Direct for Unprecedented Profits.

The book was published in 2009. It is still valid today.

Get your hands on a copy.

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His consulting practice, founded in 1990, is known for Trust-based Brand development, Positioning and business development for independent professionals on and off-line.

Consulting: www.JerryFletcher.com
Speaking: www.NetworkingNinja.com
DIY Training: www.ingomu.com