Direct Response Vs Brand Awareness Video Transcription:
Thomas Green here with Ethical Marketing Service. Today I would like to talk to you about the difference between direct response and brand awareness. If your preference is one over the other, what you should be doing if that’s the case.
Direct response is marketing which is asking for an immediate action or response from the prospect. It shows a return on investment straight away. That would be measured either in revenue or customer acquisition.
Brand awareness is designed to get your prospect to know and trust your company, before they have done business with you. So when they do decide to pick a particular product or service, you are the company that’s front of mind for them. If you are branding, trust is certainly something that should be a consideration when crafting your message.
My opinion is that direct response is better for smaller businesses and branding can work for bigger corporate companies who already have people who know them. I saw a branding campaign for a bigger company perform really well and there were lots of view through conversions. The prospects didn’t even click on the ads, but knew of the company, were reminded they had to take a particular action and did it. The ads weren’t asking for a response but they got one anyway because of their brand.
If your advertising budget is fixed and there isn’t an immediate need for a response and you are really concentrating on reach, branding may be for you. If however you require a return on your investment, direct response is likely the best option for you.
In order to do direct response advertising, the following should be included:
- You are more focused on your prospect than you are on your brand
- You customise your message based on who is receiving it
- There is a clear call to action
- There is a deadline
- Success of the marketing is measured
If you are branding or using direct response, this breakdown or my description of both should give you an idea about what you could add into your marketing message, which may make it more effective and perhaps help you get one step closer to whatever your goal is.