Marketers frequently talk about striking the perfect balance between brand-building and performance marketing, but putting this into consistent practice can be elusive. During the 2025 Cannes Lions Festival, we had the pleasure of hosting an illuminating panel aboard the Teads yacht, featuring renowned marketing effectiveness expert Les Binet, co-author of the seminal work The Long and the Short of It, alongside Meredith Kelly, Global Head of Marketing at Skoda Auto; Simon Peel, former VP of Marketing at Adidas and Haleon; and Michael Law, CEO at Carat North America. Together, these industry leaders unpacked the hard truths marketers face, while also revealing the opportunities to rethink entrenched practices and move toward more effective, future-facing strategies.
The Myth of Measurement
During times of uncertainty, the marketing pendulum often swings toward performance at the cost of brand marketing. The panelists were candid about the perils of relying excessively on performance metrics. Simon Peel recounted an enlightening incident at Adidas: “AdWords broke for a couple of days…but SEO just spiked. We didn’t lose any traffic, just attributable sales.” Peel highlighted how easily performance metrics can misrepresent true brand impact.
Les Binet underscored this point vividly with a memorable analogy: “If John Lewis measured the effectiveness of their various touch points by looking at traffic, they would probably conclude that the main things driving their business were the doors onto Oxford Street…but it’s just the door. It’s not driving traffic, it’s simply taking people in.” According to Binet, performance metrics should measure “how well the door is lubricated,” not the entire consumer journey.
Breaking the Silos
The disconnect between brand and performance teams emerged as a significant hurdle, often amplified by conflicting internal incentives. Mike Law shared his frustration from an agency perspective: “The only KPI is how cheaply you buy media… that’s what you’re [agencies] gonna be graded on. ” Law stressed how this obsession with low CPMs from brands can derail strategic marketing.
Simon Peel added a similar caution from his time at Adidas: “We had a division between our e-commerce and brand teams. So you would imagine that the brand team takes precedence… but with greater focus on e-commerce came a greater focus on digital and therefore using attribution to justify it. As a consequence, we put quite a lot of investment into channels that weren’t necessarily right for us.” Such silos foster a fragmented approach, ultimately diluting brand strength.
Asking the Right Questions
The panelists urged CFOs and executive teams to reconsider their approach to evaluating marketing. Meredith Kelly spoke candidly about her experiences at Skoda Auto, emphasizing the need for CFOs to shift their focus from immediate sales numbers to broader strategic metrics: “After Milan Design Week, my CFO asked, ‘How many cars did you sell?’ as opposed to ‘What is the long-term effect?’”
Les Binet reinforced this perspective, stating clearly: “The feelings [of brand building] are only a means to an end. The proper question is: ‘What is the net present value of the incremental cash flow generated over the next five years?’” He advocated strongly for long-term thinking and asking the right financial questions as essential for sustainable growth.
Escaping the Short-Term Trap
The damaging appeal of short-term tactics resonated throughout the discussion. Mike Law captured this succinctly: “Coming out of the pandemic, clients were drunk on performance… now nobody loves the brand anymore.” He described the inevitable “hangover” that follows when marketers chase fleeting metrics instead of brand longevity, which can ultimately lead to performance plateaus.
Les Binet offered practical guidance, suggesting a balanced approach: “Allocate the bulk of your communications budget to brand building, and a smaller proportion to short-term performance, typically about 60/40, but it varies by brand and category.” Despite this widely known best practice, short-term pressures often lead brands to prioritize immediate gains, risking long-term viability.
AI: A Game Changer… With a Human Touch
Artificial intelligence sparked vigorous debate among the panelists. Les Binet humorously dismissed certainty about AI’s future: “Anyone claiming they know AI’s impact is fooling themselves.” Meredith Kelly balanced enthusiasm with caution, underscoring creativity’s enduring importance: “We still need the crazy ideas… and to make sure there’s always a human role. Using it [AI] as a springboard rather than something that’s gonna actually trip you up.”
Mike Law emphasized the human touch as irreplaceable, even in the age of AI: “It won’t create human connection, brand love or brand resonance”
Words of Wisdom
Concluding the session, each panelist offered parting advice for marketers working to bridge brand-building and performance:
- Mike Law: “Be consistent and passionate about what you believe in.”
- Simon Peel: “Believe in the big idea, chase the big idea, but don’t necessarily believe the data that tells you it was the most amazing idea ever.”
- Meredith Kelly: “Elevate the conversations to a strategic one that can be held at the boardroom table.”
- Les Binet: “Stop thinking like a marketer and start thinking like an ordinary person. Ordinary people don’t care about any of your products or any of your ads.”
For more leadership insights from Cannes Lions and beyond, explore the full Talks with Teads series.