Around the world, marketing teams are facing the same challenge: how to balance long-term brand building with short-term business results, and prove impact across both.

Across industry conferences, executive roundtables, and team strategy sessions, one theme keeps surfacing: brand and demand aren’t separate anymore—they’re partners. The most forward-thinking marketing teams aren’t choosing between the two. They’re building connected systems, strategies, and teams that make both stronger.

But navigating this shift isn’t simple. The rise of digital marketing has only made the challenge more complex. With more platforms, more metrics, more customer journeys, and more pressure to deliver results across increasingly fragmented touchpoints, it’s harder than ever to keep brand and demand efforts aligned, let alone optimized.

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The following strategies are informed by real-world insights from global brands and senior leaders after attending the ANA’s recent event, “Integrating Brand and Demand for Maximum Impact” —like Marriott’s VP of Global Brand & Content Marketing, Fossil’s Head of Global Media Strategy, WARC’s Americas Editor, and monday.com’s Global Creative Director. If you’re rethinking ways to integrate brand and demand, here are seven strategies shared at this event you can apply on your own marketing teams.

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Did you know that only a small percentage of your potential customers are in-market at any given time? Everyone else is building mental availability and deciding which brands they'll consider when the time comes to buy.

That’s why good marketing does two jobs: builds brand memory for the 95%, and drives action with the 5%.

Research from organizations like WARC shows that combining brand and performance can dramatically improve ROI, but over-indexing on performance alone can erode growth over time, which is what most of us tend to do when we’re looking for quick results.

But brand activity influences long-term business metrics like retention, and customer lifetime value, making it one of the most powerful (and often overlooked) drivers of sustained business growth.

Try this: Build campaigns for both short- and long-term impact. And don’t just measure conversions, track how brand activity fills your future pipeline.

To gain credibility (and brand budget), marketers need to communicate like business leaders.  But more often than not, teams are still reporting in “marketing speak” while the C-suite is speaking a totally different language.

Marketers need to make the shift from reporting impressions, clicks, and engagement rates to reporting on revenue growth, profit margin, and customer acquisition cost.

This shift requires making finance your friend. Forward-thinking teams are building shared dashboards that link brand, performance, and CRM metrics that are visible across marketing, sales, and finance. Others are running bold q experiments where they shut off brand spend entirely to isolate its true impact.

This is how you unlock future investment from leadership.

Try this: Align with finance early. Build a shared view of success, and report marketing performance like you’re part of the executive team.

Key Takeaways:

• Time-blocking improves productivity by reducing decision fatigue.
• Digital distractions are manageable with deliberate settings control.
• Prioritization leads to higher-quality work.
• Rest enhances long-term focus and cognitive sharpness.

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Modern campaign planning isn’t just about driving people through a funnel. It’s about finding the right rhythm, showing up consistently with your brand message while also staying nimble enough to respond when something timely or relevant pops up.

Strong brands have mastered this balancing act. They sustain storytelling with always-on performance and the occasional bold brand moment. They leave space to respond to what’s happening in the world—whether it’s a cultural moment, a trending topic, or something unexpected that gets people talking.