Examples of companies built to greatness through Brand Building X Growth Hacking
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 8:25 am
The idea is that as short-term activation increases short-term sales growth and brand building creates long-term growth, peak results are found in some combination of both.
This is because, on the one hand, short-term activation-oriented campaigns help brand awareness. Branded campaigns, on the other hand, make brands more emotionally appealing, keep brands prominent, and make activation-oriented campaigns more efficient because leads become easier and therefore less costly to close.
According to Binet and Fields, in most industries and markets the perfect ratio to create this esinc email list mutually reinforcing loop will be around 60/40; however, in more recent research, they dig deeper to find the sweet spot for various industries .
Great, all this in theory. But are there any real examples of companies that have successfully created this synergy of brand evolution and growth hacking? Wow, I'm so glad you asked.
Arjan Kapteijns at the VIM Group puts it well:
“Let’s not forget that the most cited examples of growth hacking, such as Netflix, Airbnb, Uber, Instagram, Facebook and Alibaba, have built immensely strong brands in a very short period of time. This is also how successful companies like IKEA have grown.”
The successes of these companies, and the way their logos pop into your memory when you read them, speak to that. Remember how Uber was branded to seem like something only for cool kids in urban areas? Or how Facebook was first exclusively for Harvard students, then for other Ivy League institutions, etc.?
Here's Arjan Kapteijns again:
“Bart Karis, former [Dutch] president of IKEA NL, […] puts it this way: 'An organization needs a long-term, aspirational end goal and a clear, simple business idea on how to pursue that goal.
IKEA's ultimate goal is to contribute to a better life for as many people as possible. The business idea is to democratize design and make well-designed products affordable and available to the majority of people.
Brand identity connects all daily growth activities to the ultimate long-term goal. It forms an umbrella [under] which everything the company does [fits]. It generates inner pride and sets things moving in the right direction.”
This is because, on the one hand, short-term activation-oriented campaigns help brand awareness. Branded campaigns, on the other hand, make brands more emotionally appealing, keep brands prominent, and make activation-oriented campaigns more efficient because leads become easier and therefore less costly to close.
According to Binet and Fields, in most industries and markets the perfect ratio to create this esinc email list mutually reinforcing loop will be around 60/40; however, in more recent research, they dig deeper to find the sweet spot for various industries .
Great, all this in theory. But are there any real examples of companies that have successfully created this synergy of brand evolution and growth hacking? Wow, I'm so glad you asked.
Arjan Kapteijns at the VIM Group puts it well:
“Let’s not forget that the most cited examples of growth hacking, such as Netflix, Airbnb, Uber, Instagram, Facebook and Alibaba, have built immensely strong brands in a very short period of time. This is also how successful companies like IKEA have grown.”
The successes of these companies, and the way their logos pop into your memory when you read them, speak to that. Remember how Uber was branded to seem like something only for cool kids in urban areas? Or how Facebook was first exclusively for Harvard students, then for other Ivy League institutions, etc.?
Here's Arjan Kapteijns again:
“Bart Karis, former [Dutch] president of IKEA NL, […] puts it this way: 'An organization needs a long-term, aspirational end goal and a clear, simple business idea on how to pursue that goal.
IKEA's ultimate goal is to contribute to a better life for as many people as possible. The business idea is to democratize design and make well-designed products affordable and available to the majority of people.
Brand identity connects all daily growth activities to the ultimate long-term goal. It forms an umbrella [under] which everything the company does [fits]. It generates inner pride and sets things moving in the right direction.”