7 Key Differences Between Branding and Direct Response Marketing

By Christopher O’Neal, CPA, MBA

Direct response marketing and branding are two different marketing approaches that are being used by businesses today. Direct response marketing is a promotional method wherein a prospect is urged to give an immediate response to the advertiser through a “device” that is provided in the advertisement. 

Meanwhile, branding, which is also known as delayed response advertising, is a long-term endeavor to build your brand image and value and your products. It is a method of consistently producing an impression to make consumers comfortable with choosing your product or service when it’s time to make a purchase.

 There are many differences between direct response marketing and branding, but in this article, we’ll discuss seven key differences, starting with:

 1) Time frame

 One crucial difference between the two is the timeframe that each focuses on. Branding takes more of a long-term approach as it seeks to produce a distinct message about the brand’s benefits in the hopes of cultivating long-term customers. Meanwhile, direct response—as the name implies—has its eyes set on instant results.

 2) Approach

 Another important difference between direct response marketing and branding is the approach that each method takes. Direct response utilizes specific words and verbiage that invokes an instant response. Don’t be surprised if you’ll come across phrases such as “Call Now” and “Learn More” to encourage those viewing the ad to take action. The language used in branding is broader and focuses more on cultivating the personality of the business.

3) Goals

 Consistent delivery of brand messaging strengthens a product or service, bolsters community engagement and strengthens overall awareness to help make your brand memorable when the time comes for the consumer to make a purchase. That decision typically hinges on brand sentiment and the brand means to consumers. Direct response, on the other hand, plays the short game in the hope of compelling prospects to take immediate action.

 4) Who Uses What

 Large, well-known brands like Coca Cola, Pepsi, Red Bull and Toyota prefer to do brand marketing, as they are usually more focused on molding how their company is perceived by consumers. Small and medium-sized enterprises, meanwhile, typically prefer direct response marketing because it has a faster and shorter route to a sale than branding campaigns. This means it can place money in their pockets faster.

 5) Copy

Branding copy focuses more on educating and entertaining its recipients. The copy is brief and it relies heavily on visuals to convey its message to prospects. The copy also runs consistent with its tone and structure across the different channels and mediums that are being used to send the message.

 Meanwhile, copy in direct response marketing is written specifically to elicit a response. It looks to direct its recipient to the offer using clear and compelling arguments. The copy usually touches on the prospect’s emotions like the fear of missing out, or it can also compare the product or services with that of the competitor’s, stressing both benefit and value.

 6) Design and Format

 It’s no secret that people’s attention spans are getting shorter with each passing year, thus making the job of producing creative and compelling advertisements even more challenging than usual. In branding, two oft-used words that are associated with branding creative are “memorable” and “entertaining.” A branding campaign’s design is not meant to result in instant action but rather, to educate and entertain the audience so that your company would be first in mind when it’s time to make a purchase. Branding creative teams usually work with different formats, quirky imagery and cheeky tone to keep a brand’s story impactful and memorable.

 In stark contrast, direct response marketing creative is built with one goal in mind—to entire the recipient to act. Every element in a campaign is carefully positioned to forge a connection and persuade the prospect to move forward in the buyer journey. Direct response marketers usually take the “less is more” approach to designing creative, opting to keep collaterals clean and appealing with a compelling call-to-action.

 7) Budget

 With a quicker time to sale and measurability, direct response marketing is commonly considered cheaper than brand marketing to see a measurable return on investment. Branding, on the other hand, is also very expensive. Long-term efforts are needed to establish the brand equity of the company.