Why invest in brand marketing: follow the example of Airbnb

A recent article byWall Street JournalHe reported that the "Airbnb strategy to drastically cut advertising spending, invest in brand marketing and reduce its dependence on marketing on search engines continues to bear fruit". This observation has aroused discussions between many advertisers, wondering if a similar strategy can work for them. In 2019, Airbnb began to move the budget from Search Marketing to wider marketing initiatives. Pandemia accelerated the change, with video and social media that collected the largest share of digital spending in 2021, according to data collected bySemrush and Pathmatics.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, the company then expanded its digital strategy in OCT and CTV, further reducing the budget fee for PPC. With the increase in the CPC in the media performance channels, advertisers wonder whether to move away from the channels of performance marketing is the right move.

But before making a similar jump, let's take a look at three key considerations.

1. What external forces are influencing your business?

The pandemic played a considerable role in the change of Airbnb strategy.The company has reduced marketing costs from April 2020 to November 2020, when it reappeared with a strong presence on social media.Then, in December, Airbnb recalledtoCustomers with video ads that the brand will be present when people are ready to travel.

Consumer behavior has changed and Airbnb needed to use a means that would reassure and inspire confidence. What better way to do it than with the video?It is essential to be aligned with the external forces that influence yoursMarketing Mix.  Are you creating a new category? Or trying to change consumer behavior?In this case, it may make sense to move on to brand marketing.

2. Have you reached a critical point?

90% of Airbnb's traffic reaches the site directly. Their market share in space is almost 20%, secondSecond measure.Airbnb had already reached its turning point. His category was well consolidated and was a leader in that category.Instead of using performance supports to attract new customers, they could use them as strategic levers for supply and demand.Think of their brand awareness spend as the big workhorse and performance media as the fine-tuning.Before you decide where to spend your marketing dollars, you need to know where you're getting at.You are the leader in your category? Most of your visitors come directly to your site? In that case, it makes sense to give more weight to brand advertising and rely on performance media for fine-tuning.But if you need to acquire more customers to reach a critical point, consider a higher-performance media strategy.

3. Do you have a wasted expense?

From the outside, it’s hard to tell how much of Airbnb’s performance marketing spend was wasted.But the polls ofRakuten MarketingandCommerce Signalsindicate that marketers routinely waste 25-40% of their marketing budget.Simply cutting this wasted spending and repurposing the dollars for broader marketing initiatives can give advertisers effects similar to those seen by Airbnb.Rate yoursperformance marketing dollarsexisting tools to uncover wasted spending hidden in plain sight. Online audit tools can help, as can marketing agency audits.

Rits your marketing mix based on your unique situation

It's worth emphasizing again that Airbnb still spends about 50% of its budget on performance media.Therefore, while their mix has changed compared to the previous 80%, the company still rely on the performance supports to help balance supply and demand.While advertisers evaluate whether to move the budget towards the awareness of the brand, the roles of the marketing channels should be re -evaluated.Allowing each channel to play with its superpowers can create a wonderful symbiotic relationship within your marketing mix.So if you are taking into consideration a change of strategy similar to Airbnb, it is important to think critically about your business before moving.Think about your category, consumer behavior and market position. Finally, evaluate any wasted expenses.And if you are ready to take the big step, remember to test, measure, evaluate and repeat.

Source Searchenergineland