By Richard Croxford, Senior Copywriter, UK

As a junior marketer, or someone desperately clawing their way into the world of marketing, you might find yourself overwhelmed by the jargon, the metrics, and the deluge of advice from so-called experts who tell you that your copy should be punchy, your strategy should be data-driven, and your coffee should be Costa.

(Pret a Manger is infinitely better, by the way).  

Certainly, when I first heard the phrase “performance marketing”, I was a bit lost on its actual meaning.

Brand building, by contrast, is somewhat easier to guess but nonetheless, there’s nuances to it that aren’t immediately clear.

What is brand building?

Brand building is the grand, almost spiritual quest of creating a lasting impression in the minds of your audience.

It’s the art of weaving stories, emotions, and identities into a compelling narrative that ensnares and captures your target market.

Think of Don Draper selling nostalgia – “it’s delicate… but potent” – wherein he centres a brand around this key concept.

Or Nike’s “Just Do It”, which, over time, has become somewhat of a war cry for generations (with some help from Shia LaBeouf).

Brand building requires patience, creativity, and a long-term vision that often flies in the face of immediate gratification.

As a copywriter, you are the voice of the brand, crafting narratives that resonate deeply and linger long.

What is performance marketing?

Then there’s performance marketing, the antithesis to the romanticism of brand building.

It’s the grind, the hustle, the relentless pursuit of measurable results.

This is where data really comes into marketing, and every penny spent demands a return on investment.

Click-through rates, conversion rates, and cost per acquisition become the central focus – rather than the creative endeavour of narrative.

It’s an area where, often, copywriters struggle to break in.

Performance marketing is the domain of the algorithm, the land where your copy is dissected, tested, and optimised within an inch of its life.

It’s fast-paced, brutally efficient, and often devoid of soul – in my opinion.

Yet, it delivers immediate results and feeds modern business demands and KPIs so it certainly has its place in any modern agency.

The tension between the two

According to Marketing Week, a third of marketers believe that brand building is paramount for achieving business objectives in 2024.

But nearly half are lamenting that their campaigns are too skewed towards performance marketing.

It’s a bizarre contradiction, but it underscores a fundamental truth: the marketing world is split between two competing ideologies.

As a copywriter, you’re expected to craft the poetic, whilst delivering the pragmatic.

Stakeholders often, unfortunately, demand immediate returns but fail to see the importance of brand legacy.

So, the question for me is: How do you navigate this contradiction as a copywriter?

How do you balance the allure of brand building – which is where the creativity lies – with the coldness of performance marketing?

Here’s what I’ve come up with:

• Master the art of storytelling: Your words have power. Harness that power to create narratives that transcend mere product descriptions. Whether it’s a Facebook ad or a 60-second spot, imbue your copy with a sense of story. Make it resonate emotionally.
• Embrace data, but don’t be enslaved by it: Performance metrics are crucial, but they shouldn’t stifle your creativity. Use data as a guide, not a dictator. Test your copy, but remember that sometimes the most memorable campaigns are those that break the mould.
• Advocate for balance: As you grow in your career, you’ll gain the credibility to push back against the relentless drive for immediate results. Champion the cause of brand building to your clients. Explain that a strong brand will, in the long run, lower their acquisition costs and increase customer loyalty.
• Think long-term and short-term: Your campaigns should deliver short-term wins but also contribute to a long-term brand narrative.
• Never stop learning: Stay curious, stay informed, and stay flexible. The more you learn, the more you can adapt to the constant tug-of-war between brand building and performance marketing.

Yes, I’m aware that marketing is a blend of art, science, strategy, and creativity – it’s why I love my job so much.

My advice for young copywriters, just starting out, is to embrace the madness, but strive for balance.

With the right respect for the data and a creative flair you’ll be able to blend brand building and performance marketing.

You can’t have one without the other, so you might as well embrace them both.

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