Kantar warns brands: chasing clicks is killing long-term growth

A relentless focus on short-term performance marketing is quietly eroding brand strength and putting future profits at risk, according to a new white paper by Kantar and StackAdapt.

The report, Brand Building in Focus, draws on 6.5 billion consumer data points and features insights from agencies including Dentsu, Publicis, Havas and Sunny Advertising.

It found that brands over-indexing on short-term metrics like clicks and conversions may enjoy a quick sugar hit but often face declining base sales, weaker consumer affinity and shrinking market penetration over time.

Making clicks work for brands

By contrast, brands that maintain strong emotional connections enjoy up to five times greater market penetration, can charge up to 14% more and achieve more sustainable long-term growth.

Sarah McNeil, CEO of Sunny Advertising and the report’s sole indie agency contributor, warned that without balancing brand and performance, marketers risk trading long-term equity for fleeting wins.

“When no one’s looking past the quarter, the brand suffers… and with most CMOs staying in their roles just two to three years, the pressure to deliver immediate ROI is pushing brand equity off the table,” she said.

“If we only optimise for the quarter, we risk losing the brand equity that keeps customers coming back.”

Main image: Sarah McNeil, CEO of Sunny Advertising

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