Half of advertising's sales effect arrives after the fourth month
long-term sales impact
first four monthsm0-4
months 5-24m5-24
StatBrand Strategy
Analysis of hundreds of effectiveness studies shows that the long-term sales impact of media investment during months 5-24 typically equals that of the first four months. Measuring only the short window means ignoring half the value a campaign creates.
Source
The Effectiveness Equation - Google Market Insights EMEA, with Kantar, Nielsen, Ekimetrics, Ipsos MMA, the Behavioural Architects and WARC (2025)
Michal Protasiuk, Ahmet Bas, Jonas Christensen, Vanessa Bruns, Emily Allen and Jonny Protheroe (Google Market Insights, EMEA)
p. 34, The Effectiveness Equation (2025), Ekimetrics meta-analysis, UK, DE, FR, IT, 2017-2022
Go to the originalMore from this source
PrincipleMarketing measures itself on only one side of the profit equationStatMost organisations have no agreed definition of what marketing effectiveness meansStatBrands with pricing power command roughly twice the price of brands without itStatPricing power comes from meaningful difference, not from salienceCaseA UK skincare brand turned a 2% revenue increase into 7% by lowering its price elasticity firstPrinciplePromotion-heavy communication raises price sensitivity; balanced brand building lowers itStatPricing power and resistance to price rises correlate strongly and measurablyStatMedia returns peak with roughly half to sixty per cent of the budget in brand buildingStatRaising brand awareness lifts short-term sales as well as long-term onesWarningWinning back share costs nearly twice what cutting the budget savedWarningEvery dark quarter costs future revenue that takes years to rebuildWarningShifting a shrinking budget into performance can destroy the returns performance depends on