Balancing Brand and Performance : Insights from the Pace Principle

Goafest 2025 – Day 2

Speakers: Biprorshee Das – India Editor, WARC & Sujeet Kulkarni – Global advisory consultant in Lion’s Advisory
Pointers:

Overall Summary: The session marked the unveiling of the ‘Pace Principles’ report, a groundbreaking marketing effectiveness study using Asian data for the first time.

The study emphasizes balancing long-term brand building with short-term performance marketing, showing that combined approaches outperform singular ones. A 50:50 investment split proved most effective in Asian markets. It also highlights the importance of better measurement practices, such as extending campaign tracking beyond the active period. Cultural relevance is crucial—brands that align with shared values and behaviors perform better.

Sujeet Kulkarni opened the session by noting that WARC is part of the LIONS ecosystem, reinforcing the platform’s foundation in creativity and effectiveness. He emphasized that the idea of “measuring brand and performance separately is a false premise”. According to him, it’s not about ‘brand plus performance,’ but ‘brand-time-performance’, meaning that time plays a crucial role in building sustainable success.
Sujeet also mentioned that “using time as an ally” helps marketers stay committed to long-term brand building. He noted that the ideal number of channels for peak marketing effectiveness is six and a half, indicating that a mix of platforms is necessary to build momentum and achieve growth.

Biprorshee shared that speed is often seen as a barrier to brand investment, but that perception needs to change. He pointed out that the most effective campaigns in Asia maintain a 50-50 balance between conversion and brand building, showing that branding does indeed work in the region. He cautioned against doing long-term equity work in silos and highlighted the importance of the “multiply effect”—where integrated brand efforts across time and touchpoints lead to better outcomes.

Sujeet Concluded with “Culture is not just about geography—it’s about the values we share,” He added.