Short-Term Marketing

Short-term marketing, or sales activation—like flash sales, promo emails, and social ads—is essential for delivering quick, measurable results. Businesses lean heavily on it, often betting the house on Meta and Google. The same goes for a star salesperson. The allure is obvious—these platforms and personnel deliver quick, measurable results with a direct link between spend and return on investment (ROI). But here's the problem—algorithms change, platforms can suspend accounts, and that star salesperson can walk. It might look great in a monthly report and win short-term pats on the back, but success will be short-lived.

Long-Term Marketing

Long-term marketing, or brand activation, builds brand equity—creating more pull than push over time. It's about attracting customers gradually, fostering loyalty and advocacy, and proving you're in it for the long haul. While it takes time to nurture strong customer relationships, the customer lifetime value (CLV) more than justifies the effort and investment.

In their highly regarded book "The Long and the Short of It", respected marketing and effectiveness Godfathers Les Binet and Peter Field advocate allocating 60% of your marketing budget to brand-building and 40% to short-term sales activation. Outspoken and revered London Business School marketing professor Mark Ritson agrees. I do, too, though; for a startup or SME, it's rarely feasible from the outset.

Sustainable Growth, Always.

When Binet, Field, and Ritson beat the drum about the 60/40 rule, it's usually in the context of established multi-million-dollar brands. For startups and SMEs, it's a different game. With a few exceptions, I suggest starting with an 80/20 split and gradually shifting toward 60/40 over three to five years. It's about scaling sensibly and sustainably, not blindly copying what works for the big players. Clear metrics are essential for tracking progress and demonstrating the impact of improved brand and customer sentiment along the way.

Solely investing in Short-Term Marketing will kill you.

The issue with short-term sales activation? In many cases, sales plummet once investment stops or ads are paused, often due to algorithm changes or platforms like Meta freezing accounts without warning.

Binet, Field, and Ritson argue it erodes brand value, and I agree. Imagine dating someone who only talks about themselves and pressures you to "marry me now" after a few dates. Nice experience? It's certainly memorable for all the wrong reasons. When considering the balance between long-term and short-term marketing investments, Heineken's CEO, Dolf van den Brink, captured it perfectly: "Brand power today is pricing power tomorrow."

Balancing a Long and Short Marketing Budget

Here's how to balance your marketing strategy over time without harming your revenue growth and brand development:

1. Product: The foundation should always be making your product and value proposition the best it can be. Few can build a real competitive moat, but innovation should always be top of mind.

2. Audit Your Spend: Look hard at where your money's going—if it's all in sales promos and not in building relationships and advocacy with your customers, a smarter competitor investing in long-term brand building and product innovation will kill you.

3. Align Your Metrics: Don't worry if brand love doesn't immediately translate into sales. Focus on brand awareness and loyalty over time rather than short-term conversion rates. Think of brand-building as a slow-burn romance—it takes time but delivers higher-margin returns in the long run. Transitioning gradually from a 20:80 to 60:40 ratio over five years makes this objective both achievable and realistic from a revenue perspective. Remember, the goal isn't just activity for activity's sake; delivering higher margins in the longer term is the real win.

4. Stay Consistent: Keep your communications on-brand, whether running a long-term campaign or a flash sale. Consistency goes a long way in helping customers recognise you in a crowded market. Marketers call this codification—the correct use of fonts, colour palettes, images, tone of voice, etc.

Final Takeaway: Brand Power Today is Pricing Power Tomorrow

So, there you have it. Long and Short Marketing isn't an either-or proposition; the savviest brands and marketers know this. And if Ritson's right (spoiler: he always is), then remember that brand love can't be rushed, but a well-timed, sale never hurt anyone. Add continuous product innovation into the mix, and you’ve got the foundation for a serious challenger brand or market leader.

About the author

Jonathan Drainey is a senior brand strategist and marketing director based in Northern Ireland, UK. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, he partners with select clients in Ireland and the UK to transform their IP into market-leading products and global challenger brands. With a proven track record, he drives transformation and growth through innovation, design, operations, and strategic marketing. A strong advocate for product-centricity and the circular economy, he specialises in the agri-food, health, energy, tech, and industrial sectors.

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