WARC Multiplier: Brand x Performance: The Growth Engine Scaleups Need
Many scaleups double down on performance marketing because it feels measurable and immediate. But new WARC research shows that over-investing in performance can actually reduce ROI by 20–50%. When businesses balance performance with brand-building, ROI can increase by up to 90%. The real growth engine is not “either/or”, it’s brand × performance working together.
We see this play out all the time:
- Investors push for measurable growth metrics like CAC and LTV.
- Marketing teams optimise for channel KPIs like CTR and ROAS.
- CEOs get caught in the middle, under pressure to deliver short-term results while building long-term value.
The issue isn’t choosing the wrong side. It’s treating brand and performance as separate when in reality, they’re interdependent. Brand creates trust, familiarity and demand. Performance converts that demand into pipeline, sales and revenue.
Avoiding the advertising 'Doom Loop'
Performance advertising promises endless optimisation, but it often delivers diminishing returns - as found in the WARC research. The risks are:
Misleading metrics → attribution overvalues last-click channels.
Diminishing returns → scaleups hit a “performance plateau” where growth stalls.
This creates a doom loop: a slowing growth leads to optimisation against faulty metrics, and a shift of more budget to performance, which results in weaker brand equity and ultimately stalled returns.
INSIGHT: Performance only works long-term when it’s powered by brand.
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Brand x Performance in action
Let’s take a quick look at some real-life examples of brand vs performance ads from Nike’s Instagram account, which you can see in all its glory here.
Brand example: Nike ‘Winning heals everything’
- Inspires people to associate Nike with determination, aspiration, lifestyle.
- Goal: build emotional connection + long-term brand equity.
- Metrics: awareness, brand recall, preference.
Tell your founding story, your mission, or show your vision for changing the industry. Not about the product today - about reputation tomorrow.
Performance example: Nike ‘Shop styles’
- Clear, product-led, short-term call to action.
- Goal: drive immediate clicks and sales.
- Metrics: CTR, conversion rate, ROAS.
You could have a LinkedIn ad with ‘Book Your Demo Today’ or a Google search ad targeting buyers now.
How they work together
The brand ad makes customers feel: “Nike represents who I want to be", and the performance ad converts that trust into action: “And now I’ll buy their trainers.” Think of brand ads as planting the seeds of demand, and performance ads as harvesting it.
3 Moves for founders & CEOs this quarter:
- Audit your spend ratio. If 80–90% of your budget goes to performance, shift 10–20% into brand storytelling.
- Set “both/and” KPIs. Track awareness, consideration and preference alongside CAC and revenue.
- Unify your narrative. Make sure your ads, sales decks and investor updates all reinforce the same story.
Turn Brand x Performance into growth
Your brand and performance should work together, not apart. Let’s align them into one powerful growth engine - starting with a free strategy call.