In the last few years, and on a global scale, brands have been tasked with an unparalleled demand for marketing innovation. On the heels of a pandemic and a recession-galvanizing invasion of Ukraine, they’ve been propelled to think on their feet – many have had to rely on short-term tactics. These approaches include brief campaigns (less than six months) or even, conservatively, taking a break with regards to overall brand-building investments. According to a new report by the ICA, these methods have become increasingly popular, but also damaging.

“During a downturn, many brands and marketers take a shorter-term approach and embrace the classic, but wrong-headed, thinking that this is no time to build a brand but to drive short-term sales, when exactly the opposite makes sense,” explain co-authors Peter Field, a former advertising strategic planner and marketing consultant, and Ian Darby, an advertising-focused business journalist.

The data collected and used for analysis in the report is sourced from 2021 and 2022 entries to the Effie Awards Canada and comprise campaigns that ran in 2020 and 2021. It highlights that shorter campaigns under-perform on business success metrics – they’re much less profitable and build weaker brands. To illustrate the insight yielded, the authors highlight a handful of the most profitable brands and their award-winning campaign initiatives – ones that took time and strategic brand-building expenditures. Case studies include campaigns for No Frills, Tim Hortons and Maple from Canada (Érable du Québec).

Loblaws Companies’ No Frills, in collaboration with ad agency John St., invested in a long-term campaign strategy in 2018 with the aim of giving discount shopping a more positive spin. Rather than changing the store itself, the idea was to change the perception of who its customer is – infusing pride in being a “Hauler” or “someone who gets a lot, for a lot less.” No Frills capitalised on the future of this concept by spending on advertising venues that seem non-traditional for a grocery store. They created music videos, compelling television spots and other creative animated executions to brand the store as an attractive lifestyle choice. “The Haulers idea made a lasting business impact,” the report attests, “contributing to an average year-on-year quarter-three sales growth rate of 2.07% from 2018-2021.”

Similarly, the association of 13,300 Quebec Maple Syrup Producers had the goal of changing consumer views surrounding maple syrup. It’s not just for breakfast, they knew. With Rethink as the strategy and creative agency entrusted with the job, they ran the “Good in Everything” campaign between 2020 and 2022. The TV and sponsorship spots filled consumer screens over a period of 16 months. “Érable du Québec’s brand awareness grew by 26% (from 60% to 86%) between summer 2020 and January 2022,” specifies the report. In addition, maple syrup began to take on a different look. From respondents, 42% said they recently used it in a meal besides breakfast.

Combining pop culture fandom with long-term brand recognition can also provide results. And nowhere has this been more visible as of late than Tim Hortons’ collaboration with Ontario-born-and-raised mega star Justin Bieber. With agency Gut Toronto, Timbiebs were born, bringing in a whole new generation of Tim Hortons consumers and followers with 2.1 billion social media impressions and a significant increase in sales. The “Timbiebs” campaign – deploying TV and radio ads – pushed an already beloved brand back to the top of conversations.

What’s clear from the data and analysis is that the brands that chose to stick to consistent and balanced marketing efforts and investments over time are the ones that continue to succeed. What’s the sweet spot? The optimal balance between short-term gains and long-term brand building initiatives remains a 60:40 split (60% investment in brand, 40% activation). By investing in brand-building for the future, marketers will enhance the effectiveness of their ads — a 27% uptick in long-term business effectiveness was noted in brands that understood and followed this conventional wisdom.

While calibrating marketing strategies to deliver short-term impact can be attractive, it threatens the future of a brand. And as the report clarifies: This is not good judgment in stable or unstable times, and Canadian marketers have the responsibility to resist.