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Brand Building Confirmed as King of Marketing for 2025

November 7, 2024

In a world saturated with digital ads, brand building has increasingly emerged as a cornerstone of successful marketing. Although digital marketing trends have evolved, brand building has maintained its relevance, serving as a powerful, long term strategy. This article explores how brand building has sustained its importance, especially in the era of generative AI and search engine changes, and why companies should consider integrating it with performance marketing.

What is Brand Building?

At its core, brand building is the strategic process of creating a unique and recognisable identity that resonates with customers. It encompasses key components:

Identity: A brand’s distinct look, tone, and feel.
Voice: Consistent messaging that aligns with the brand’s values.
Reputation: Building a positive perception through trust and reliability.
Trust and Loyalty: Developing strong, lasting connections with consumers.

Brandingmag succinctly states, “Branding is the perpetual process of identifying, creating, and managing the cumulative assets and actions that shape the perception of a brand in stakeholders’ minds.” (BrandingMag)

Why Brand Building Matters

A strong brand doesn’t just attract customers; it fosters loyalty and trust, creating an emotional connection that drives long term success. Unlike performance marketing, which is focused on short term sales, brand building creates enduring customer relationships.

Elements of brand identity, including logo, colours, and typography.

Brand Building vs. Performance Marketing: Finding the Balance

Performance marketing has gained traction for its immediate, quantifiable outcomes, such as click through rates (CTR), leads, and conversions. This form of marketing is effective for generating instant results, often focused on lead generation and direct sales. However, it contrasts with brand building in several ways:

Performance Marketing: Measurable, data driven, and designed for immediate returns.
Brand Building: A long term investment that cultivates loyalty and establishes a brand’s place in the market.

As Harvard Business Review notes, “Companies that over invest in performance marketing at the expense of brand building risk eroding brand equity, leading to diminishing returns over time.” (Harvard Business Review)

Finding the right balance is key. Many successful companies are integrating brand building strategies with performance marketing to achieve both immediate gains and sustainable growth. Explore our Digital Marketing Solutions to learn how your business can benefit from an integrated approach.

The Risks of Overreliance on Performance Marketing

Relying solely on performance marketing can be risky, especially as ad spend grows and competition for visibility increases. As more companies rely on pay per click (PPC) and social media ads, they often encounter diminishing returns.

Brand Recognition vs. Direct Conversions: Without strong brand support, customers may ignore ads from unfamiliar brands.
Long Term Impact: Performance marketing alone can undermine a business’s pricing power and differentiation, leading to commoditisation over time.

Digital Ad Cost Rises on Different Platforms

Google: The average CPC across all industries increased by 10%, from $4.22 in 2023 to $4.66 in 2024
Bing: In 2023, CPC was $1.54 (average across all industries) and in 2024 it’s $1.56, an increase of 1.3%
Meta (Facebook and Instagram): CPM rates have increased by 7.4% since 2023, reaching $7.33 in 2024
Snapchat: Has seen the fastest rising social media ad rates, with CPM up 27.6% year-over-year to date in 2024
TikTok: In 2023, average CPC was $0.40, and in 2024 it’s now $1.00, an increase of 150%
LinkedIn: In 2023, average CPC was $7.00 and in 2024 it’s now $8.00, an increase of 14.3%

The digital advertising landscape is becoming increasingly competitive, leading to higher costs. In the UK, digital advertising spending reached £29.6 billion in 2023, marking an 11% increase from the previous year. By prioritising brand building efforts, companies can differentiate themselves, establish trust, and avoid the common pitfalls associated with an overreliance on performance marketing.

Chart showing increases in digital ad costs across major platforms from 2023 to 2024.

Impact of the Changing Digital Landscape

The digital landscape is evolving rapidly, with significant impacts on how performance marketing operates. Notably, SERP (Search Engine Results Page) features and generative AI tools are transforming the customer journey by reducing traditional click through rates (CTR):

Zero Click Searches: Search Engine Land reports that more users are finding information directly on the SERP, limiting the need to click through to websites. (Search Engine Land)
Generative AI Tools: AI driven answers, like Google’s Search Generative Experience, give users instant answers. This shift reduces reliance on traditional paid search as fewer users click ads for information.

These changes mean that companies can no longer rely solely on clicks and need to build brand recognition directly in search results, social media, and content platforms. Learn more about our brand strategy services to build a memorable brand that’s always top of mind.

Building Brand Awareness in the Era of AI and Reduced Clicks

To counter declining click throughs and SERP changes, businesses should focus on brand presence rather than solely chasing clicks. Brand awareness can be achieved through:

Content Marketing: Creating valuable content, such as blogs and videos, that helps customers and reinforces the brand’s values.
Social Media Engagement: Building a direct connection with audiences to create a loyal following.
Public Relations: Using PR to gain credibility and media coverage can amplify a brand’s presence in search results and beyond.

By focusing on building brand recognition across various channels, companies ensure that their brand remains top of mind when customers are ready to make a purchase.

Brand Building is the Sustainable Strategy for the Future

In the face of a changing digital landscape, brand building proves to be a sustainable, resilient approach to marketing. Investing in brand identity, storytelling, and customer relationships not only drives loyalty but also protects companies from the uncertainties of algorithm changes and reduced ad effectiveness.

An integrated approach that balances brand building with selective performance marketing allows companies to cultivate a recognisable, trusted brand while still driving conversions in the short term. As Gartner predicts, “By 2025, a perceived decay in the quality of social media sites will push 50% of consumers to significantly limit their use of major platforms.” (Gartner)

With brand building as a foundation, companies can establish a powerful presence in consumers’ minds, ensuring success and customer loyalty in the digital age.

How Purplex Marketing Can Help You Build a Lasting Brand

At Purplex Marketing, we understand the complexities of today’s digital landscape and the importance of a well rounded approach to marketing. With rising ad costs and evolving SERP features, businesses need a trusted partner to navigate the changes while building a powerful brand presence. Our team offers expert brand strategy, digital marketing solutions, and content marketing services designed to foster lasting customer connections and sustainable growth.

Whether you’re looking to strengthen your brand identity, create engaging content, or achieve a strategic balance between brand building and performance marketing, Purplex Marketing can help. Contact us today to discover how we can support your journey toward a recognisable, resilient brand.

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