When marketing budgets are tight, brand building often takes a back seat because the ‘safer’ option is to double down on performance marketing to hit immediate targets (and keep the CFO happy). The reality, however, is that a short-term sugar hit can come at a cost.
In a recent article, Jo-Ann Foo, Senior Director at Analytic Partners says that over-rotating to performance leads to diminishing returns, inflated CPCs, and longer recovery times. It’s called the “performance penalty,” and the ROI damage is real – brands that pivot too far from balanced strategies can see a 40% decline in revenue ROI.
The smart move? Maintain a brand-to-performance ratio that reflects your business reality (goals, strategy, budget and cash flow). Vocal industry guru, Mark Ritson’s advice, is to protect whatever you can in the “long” bucket (aka The long and the short) for at least three years – even if it’s not the textbook 60% of brand marketing investment that is considered most effective. To give you a head start, try out Tracksuit’s Marketing Budget Calculator to work out what the balance looks like based on the variables of your brand and sector, and compare that to where you are. It’ll give you a benchmark to measure against, and a goal to work towards. You just have to hold the line!
In tough conditions, there's pressure to put all your eggs in one high-performing basket (or the most familiar one) however, evidence shows that spreading spend across multiple platforms delivers better results. According to Analytic Partners, integrated campaigns across five channels drives 35% higher ROI than single-channel efforts.
This doesn’t mean splashing cash everywhere, of course. It means choosing the right mix - media that reach different parts of your audience, at different times, cohesively working together to drive results. For example, a blend of Digital Video, Out of Home (OOH), and Paid Social can create a surround-sound effect at a fraction of the price of TV.
Ritson summarises this into a simple formula: a × b > 2a or 2b. That is, media working in tandem outperform media working in isolation. Even modest budgets can punch above their weight when spread strategically.
We couldn’t write a blog about “How to Get More Bang for Your Buck from Your Media Budget in 2025” without talking about Generative AI, as it’s fundamental to how we efficiently scale our advertising efforts in a way we’ve not seen before. Gartner found that GenAI investments are delivering real ROI through improved time (49%), cost efficiency (40%), and content output (27%), so it's a bandwagon you have to get on.
At Habitat M, we’re using SQREEM’s One Intelligence platform’s cognitive AI to analyse live behaviours to find niche audience segments in real time, which is powerful stuff. Regardless of ‘the what’, AI tools can streamline workflows and free up time for strategic thinking; therefore, the key is to use AI as an enabler, not a replacement, as the human touch still matters, especially in creative and brand-building!