Focus, finance, and future demand: UK marketing leaders share insights into what really drives long-term business success

Building brands that resonate and endure is no easy feat, especially in today’s fast-paced landscape where trends can shift overnight.

At our very first Building Brands of the Future event in London, two industry leaders—Yewande Ogunkoya, Managing Partner of Craft Media, and Simon Braier, Senior Director of Brand and Product Marketing at VistaPrint—shared their insights into the evolving challenges of brand building and the practical lessons they’ve learned.

Yewande and Simon had us hooked on their advice, so it was only right that we shared it for anyone who missed it!

Shrinking the fight 🥊

One of the most impactful ideas shared was the concept of “shrinking the fight.” Yewande explained that Craft Media clients often want to achieve noticeability, not just broader reach, which can be challenging in a crowded market dominated by big-budget competitors. To cut through the noise, brands should focus on distinguishing themselves on the most relevant channels and with the most relevant audience.

Yewande described how Craft Media helps clients lower barriers to success by concentrating efforts on a specific region, demographic, or channel. Instead of spreading resources too thin, focusing on a targeted audience allows brands to create deeper, more meaningful connections, maximising noticeability with a more achievable scope…otherwise known as ‘shrinking the fight’.

Speaking the language of finance 🗣️

Another crucial takeaway was around understanding how to communicate the value of brand investment to finance teams. Simon emphasised the importance of speaking the language of finance, and being able to translate brand metrics into meaningful business outcomes to influence decision-making at the highest level.

He added that demonstrating how improved brand metrics link to long-term financial performance helps these conversations. "Explaining the different clock speeds between demand creation, capture, and conversion is crucial," he said. Investments in brand salience today lead to stronger financial outcomes in the future, justifying the long-term approach amidst a culture that often seeks immediate results.

Brand strategy and consistency 🤝

Simon discussed the importance of consistency across all customer touchpoints—something VistaPrint focuses on through a clear strategy, voice, and style guidelines. A brand is more than just a logo; it’s the cumulative experience across marketing, product, service, and every interaction. Consistency, Simon noted, builds memory structures, making a brand more easily recalled when customers make purchasing decisions.

Yewande added that for both large enterprises and challenger brands with tighter budgets, understanding the key objective or "job to be done" is fundamental. For smaller brands, shared and earned media are often prioritised over paid, but the core of creating an effective brand strategy remains the same.

Balancing brand building and short-term sales ⚖️

The discussion also touched on balancing brand building with short-term sales goals. Simon highlighted VistaPrint’s efforts in demonstrating the link between brand building and financial growth. Tools like Tracksuit’s Benchmarking Tool help communicate what “good” looks like in brand health, translating marketing metrics into meaningful business outcomes for stakeholders unfamiliar with marketing nuances.

Yewande added that agencies need to get as deep into a client’s organisation as possible, beyond just paid media, creative campaigns or their day-to-day interactions. Understanding the customer experience and all related business aspects is key to crafting resonant and successful communications.

Want to hear more advice like this?

Make sure you keep an eye out for upcoming Building Brands of the Future events as we’re now officially running them in London, New York City, Sydney and Auckland.

We hope to see you at the next one!