One of the clearest truths in marketing is also one of the easiest to forget:
Brands with higher awareness get far greater return from the same media spend.
This isn’t a vague theory—it’s been demonstrated across multiple platforms, from ecommerce marketplaces to TikTok. The effect is consistent and undeniable:
- Low Awareness (20%) → baseline efficiency
- Medium Awareness (40%) → 1.48x conversion rate
- High Awareness (60%) → 2.86x conversion rate
That’s nearly three times the conversion power for the same level of investment.
Why It Matters
Advertising effectiveness in any given year is largely the result of cumulative investment in prior years.
- Channel choice, targeting, and creative optimization all play a role.
- But compared to equity, they are small determinants.
Equity is the multiplier. The more people know and trust your brand, the harder every marketing dollar works.
This aligns with what Paul Dyson found in his analysis of advertising profitability: existing brand size is the single biggest driver of payback. Larger brands benefit because they already carry equity, distribution, and cultural presence. The insight here is critical: awareness is one lever marketers can intentionally grow.
The Long Game
The takeaway is simple:
- Don’t just evaluate campaigns in isolation.
- Plan on 3–5 year horizons, where the compounding effects of awareness really show up.
- Recognize that channels like TV are not just performance drivers—they’re equity builders.
This is the same principle I highlighted in my post about TV: TV makes every other channel work harder. Awareness is the mechanism behind that lift. Build it, and your digital, social, and search spend all pull more weight.
For brand leaders:
Equity is not a soft metric.
It’s a financial asset that compounds. The stronger your awareness, the lower your acquisition costs, the higher your pricing power, and the deeper your moat.
For agencies: the responsibility is clear. Plan for the interdependencies between channels. Run ongoing experiments. Measure long-term equity effects, not just short-term clicks.
Final Word
The biggest driver of advertising efficiency isn’t the latest targeting hack. It’s the equity you’ve already built—and the discipline to keep investing in it.
When in doubt, grow awareness.
When in doubt, add TV.Because equity doesn’t just fuel conversions. It fuels culture, belonging, and loyalty—the true growth engines of cult brands.