The Push and Pull of Brand Building

Striking the right balance of strategies, tactics and tradeoffs

You’ve likely heard of push-and-pull marketing. The term itself is a bit outdated, and it feels too transactional and mule-ish in its connotation. But at its core lies time-tested marketing principles that remain as relevant today as ever.

A quick refresher: Push marketing refers to strategies and tactics that push products directly to consumers, even if they are not actively seeking them or know they exist. The intention of this in-your-face approach is to drive initial awareness and sales by meeting the consumer where they’re at. Pull marketing, on the other hand, focuses on sparking interest and creating demand by enticing consumers to actively seek out the brand or product. The intention is to magnetize consumers to where you’re at.

“Pushing” and “pulling” is not at all how I think or talk about brand building or marketing strategy. But recently, I have been thinking and talking a lot about how brand marketing and performance marketing work together. Earlier this year, Business of Fashion named 2024 the year of the brand. They made a strong case for a return to brand purpose and values as central themes in marketing, asserting that “in today’s market, nothing is more important than marketing that shapes a brand’s long-term reputation.” Performance marketing alone cannot sustain a brand’s prominence, much less its profits. Yet, it remains an essential part of any marketing mix.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about micro-trends vs. macro-trends, one-off sponsored content vs. long standing partnerships, omni-presence vs. exclusive access, and maximization vs. optimization.

It seems that at every turn, marketers are faced with the challenge of making strategic decisions in a landscape that is rapidly evolving and increasingly complex. These decisions require a delicate balance between short-term gains and long-term value, demanding a deep understanding of consumer behavior, new technologies, and market dynamics. Navigating this environment successfully involves not just choosing between opposing strategies, but finding ways to integrate them, ensuring that marketing efforts are both effective in the present and sustainable in the future.

In the era of distributed commerce, where the customer journey is not linear but circuitous, marketing must be thought of as an ecosystem. While pushing and pulling feels like a lot of effort, a marketing ecosystem feels holistic, synergistic, and interdependent. The goal is to achieve a balance of efforts, which is more likely to lead to sustained growth.

A quick Google search or ChatGPT prompt might offer a simple explanation of push-and-pull marketing, along with typical strategies for each. However, such searches barely scratch the surface. Branding, market entry, and marketing require a continuous, interconnected web of strategies, tactics, and tradeoffs, as budget is always a limiting factor. Below is a fresh look at push-and-pull dynamics within the broader framework of the marketing ecosystem.

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Near vs. Far

I try to set aside time each week for my mental, physical, and creative health. Today that looked like sitting in an infrared sauna for 45 minutes, followed by a cold plunge for as long as I can stand it (4 minutes in 47 degree water, a personal record). Sometimes I meditate, but today I thought about work. As I was baking in the hotbox and pondering push-and-pull strategies, I couldn’t help but see the symbolism in this monitor.

Near Infrared (NIR - top wavelength) light pulses with dynamic energy, casting shorter wavelengths that only skim the surface yet deliver immediate results such as pain relief. In contrast, Far Infrared (FIR - bottom wavelength) light goes deeper, emitting longer wavelengths that penetrate below superficial layers to deliver lasting benefits like detoxification and improved metabolism. The beauty is that I get a bit of both. They are designed to work together, offering a spectrum of benefits that lead to holistic health.

The marketing ecosystem can be thought of in the same way. Which efforts will deliver immediate impact, and which efforts support sustained brand awareness? When do we jump into a cultural moment and tap into a micro-trend, and when do we lean into our existing cultural capital? Striking this balance over and over is the very art of brand building.