Brand Publishing Briefing: Brand building vs. performance marketing, and McKinsey’s brand publishing playbook

The great debate between performance marketing and brand marketing (which includes brand publishing) continues. Some marketers continue to argue that paying for concrete outcomes remains the best use of marketing budgets – particularly during difficult economic periods – while others say investments in brand-building and awareness is particularly critical during tough times as it ensures a faster recovery. In Harvard Business Review, former P&G exec Jim Stengel, professor Cait Lamberton and marketing exec Ken Favaro write that pitting the two against each other ultimately makes both ineffective. Instead, argue the authors, marketers should focus on  investments that build brand equity, and a suite of revamped brand metrics can enable companies to make decisions about how ma