Amanda Blackman of AKA’s Take on Awareness Media

Brands are feeling some whiplash these days when it comes to consumer behavior. Where just a handful of years ago consumers were throwing around cash without a care, today they’re much more nuanced and less predictable in their post-Covid, inflation-cautious, anxiety-ridden spending.

Of course, brand performance, alongside consumer behavior, is constantly evolving. But one thing has become startlingly clear: We need to resist the instinct to lean only on the tactics that are easiest to measure, such as conversion-based digital media spends (Google, social media ads, etc.) at the expense of a full-funnel strategy.

Here’s the thing: A conversion-centric strategy alone is simply not effective in the current landscape.

In recent weeks, I’ve had conversations with executives at four major U.S. brands, each facing alarmingly declining sales and reduced ROAS year over year. “We ran some awareness media a few years ago, so everyone should be aware of us now,” one marketing director told me. “We’ve moved on to the conversion phase.”

These are famous last words. After working to create awareness when they launched, each of these brands pivoted their advertising efforts to rely almost exclusively on investing in conversion-based digital media. This oversimplification of consumer behavior caused all of them to fail, vastly underestimating the need to build brand recognition, intrigue, and recall.

Head to Adweek to read the full feature by AKA’s Amanda Blackman!