Branding vs. Direct Response (No Holds Barred!)

My training is in graphic design, illustration in fact, but a lot of my work experience is in direct response marketing. As a result, I tend to be hyper aware of the conflicting opinions between two marketing camps: Branding versus Direct Response.

Branding is a blanket term for any marketing that emphasizes putting the “brand” of a company generally before the public eye. This can be logos, advertisements, online video, viral campaigns, etc. One striking characteristic of branding is that it uses clever, memorable imagery and writing to indirectly express the personality and values of the organization it represents. A second striking characteristic is that its effects cannot be measured directly.

Direct response is any kind of sales letter, mail piece, email piece, or online campaign that emphasizes extracting an immediate response from the consumer (hence “direct response” marketing). This may be to buy, call, give an email address, etc. The striking characteristics of direct response are that it values action over style, and if done well, the effects are measured in extreme detail.

Over the next couple blog posts I’d like to talk about the values/detriments of each and try to find the happy (effective marketing) middle where the two meet.