Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Operations.

Today we're bringing back our very own Director of Retail Marketplace Strategy, Pat Petriello, to discuss how the savviest brands are balancing the needs of brand vs. performance marketing, how to avoid a life sentence in ROAS Jail, and the all-important 95/5 rule.

Tune in to find out more!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, Julie, Jordan, and Pat discuss:

• Introduction to ROAS Jail: Pat Patriello explains the concept of "ROAS jail," where marketers focus solely on Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS), leading to inefficiencies and short-term growth strategies.

• The 95-5 Rule: Only 5% of consumers are in the market for any given product at any time. The focus should be on brand building for the 95% who are not currently shopping.

• 60-40 Rule: Introduced by Pat as a guideline, suggesting a budget allocation of 60% towards brand-building and 40% towards performance marketing. This ratio helps balance short-term sales goals with long-term brand equity.

• Brand vs. Performance Marketing: Discussion on how these strategies differ and the importance of emotional connection through branding to attract long-term customers.

• Amazon's Role: Insight into how Amazon is transitioning to accommodate brand building alongside its historical strength in direct sales and conversion.

• Practical Recommendations: Tips for business leaders on how to integrate brand marketing into existing performance-focused strategies without necessarily increasing overall spending.

• Examples of Effective Brand Building: Brands like Patagonia are highlighted as successfully creating emotional connections that lead consumers directly to their products, bypassing competitive marketplace auctions.