Writing
The case for brand equity, from inside performance.
Essays on brand equity, from the performance side of media. New here? Start with the series.
Start here · The Brand Trilemma, a series in three parts
The Brand Trilemma
Every pound and every hour a brand spends lands somewhere on a triangle: Equity, Activation, Identity. Plot yourself honestly and you will usually find you have been underfunding the corner that compounds.
Performance harvests demand. It doesn't create it.
Why the most efficient account in the category can still be growing on demand it never created, and what performance structurally cannot do.
Your CAC keeps rising because your brand is weak
Rising acquisition costs are usually a brand problem, not a media one. The brand case, made in performance's own terms.
Positioning is a bet, not a slogan
Most brands describe themselves instead of taking a position. A real position is a bet you can lose.
You are defending a budget
Your cost per click is climbing, the brand line is under review, and the dashboard is winning the argument.
What a 70/30 split costs in 18 months of CPC inflation
Hold 70% activation and 30% brand for eighteen months and the same clicks cost 15% more.
Attribution is a ludic fallacy
What the model credits and what the media caused are different lines.
The dashboard is all there is
The Monday screen shows half the business.
The graveyard of performance-only brands
You only ever meet the survivors.
Share of search is a focus group you already run
People type what they actually want.
You are deciding where the money goes
What each channel is for, what a position stakes, and a live analysis of a brand that over-invests in one corner.
You are working out what the offer itself says
Delivery is a positioning decision that most retailers make by accident. What the van buys, and which promise is worth advertising.
You need to size an audience: the method
How to size one yourself. The ONS already counted your market: people, pay, spending, businesses and geography, free and cited.
You already paid for this audience research
The richest fifth of households spends £1,083.60 a week; the poorest fifth £407.30.
Your B2B market has already been counted
4,272,535 businesses employ nobody but their owners; 8,335 hold 49% of the turnover.
Where your audience lives is public information
One London media buy covers Richmond, on median pay of £1,056.60 a week, and Barking, on £754.10.
What your audience earns is public
The £100k earner barely exists outside London.
You want it done for you: the audience briefs
Three audiences already built with that method, segments and media plan included. Consumer, B2B and insurance.
Who buys suits and shirts in London
Two thirds of London's working residents are in the formalwear occupations.
Who buys B2B finance
Almost half the turnover sits with 8,335 firms; 4.3 million businesses are one person.
Who buys travel insurance
The conditions-led buyer is a search audience, not an age band.