Branding vs. performance: How to build brands that convert and deliver lasting results.

I've been mulling over how to approach this post for several weeks, if not months. It all started with a meeting with a client who invests a significant amount of money in conversion campaigns, which led to a conversation with our digital planning director. I know there are many opinions on this topic, but I'd like to offer my perspective because, at least this is how I see it, we have the privilege of defending both sides of the Force. Which is dark and which is not, we'll see in the following lines, which I'll present as the three Star Wars installments.

I. The false dilemma

For years, in every meeting, every briefing, every strategic conversation with a client or team, a seemingly unavoidable question was repeated: Do we focus on branding or performance? Do we build a brand or drive sales? The answer seemed to require a choice, as if it were two mutually exclusive paths. Two budgets, two objectives, two languages.

And so one of the most absurd and limiting divisions in modern marketing was born.

In an attempt to demonstrate immediate results, many brands opted for the tangible, the measurable, the fast: clicks, leads, conversions. Performance. And for a while, it seemed to work. But at the same time, something began to crumble. Brands lost their soul, campaigns became indistinguishable, the differential evaporated. And worse: growth stopped scaling. As if suddenly, selling without building began to show its limits.

Branding, meanwhile, was perceived as a luxury. Something aspirational. Aesthetic. Inspiring, yes, but not very practical. However, the world changed. The consumer changed. The market changed. And with them, the rules of the game.

Today, brands don't live in campaigns. They live in conversations. In gestures. In details. In all those moments where what we are intersects with what others expect. And there, branding isn't just useful: it's necessary. Not for decoration, but for functioning.

Branding has ceased to be an aesthetic exercise and has become an act of strategic survival.

II. When the click is not enough

The paradox is that in their obsession with conversion, many brands forgot to build. And without building, no conversion will last. Because you can have the best product, the best funnel, the best CPC… but if you don't generate trust, if you don't leave a mark, if you don't excite even a little, you're selling into thin air. And we see it every day.

We see brands launching campaigns that work on the surface, but fail to build loyalty. Brands that optimize every piece to the extreme, but fail to connect. Brands that invest in visibility, but fail to generate recall. Brands that activate without having defined who they are.

In contrast, there's a new generation of brands doing it differently. Brands that aren't asking themselves whether they should invest in branding or performance, but rather how to make one drive the other. Brands that understand that the story they tell on their Instagram profile must be consistent with the ad that appears on Google, with email automation, and with the post-sale experience. Brands that know that selling isn't the end of the process, it's the beginning of the relationship.

This is where branding demonstrates that it's not just about awareness. It's about clarity, consistency, and a fulfilled promise. And when that's aligned with tactical actions, the result isn't just a conversion. It's a connection.

Performance without a brand is like a date without a conversation: there may be interest, but no connection.

III. Brands that excite and sell

Today, at identty, we help our clients move beyond the wrong question. It's not about choosing between branding or performance. It's about integration. Understanding that well-designed branding isn't something you 'activate' once and file away in a manual. It's something that lives in every channel, in every micro-decision, in every word. And it can—and should—inspire performance.

Likewise, performance isn't a threat to the brand. On the contrary. It's where the brand is put to the test. Where what we say becomes a click, a purchase, an action. That's why we're working to ensure that both worlds cease to be silos and become ecosystems.

When branding and performance align, results don't just arrive: they're sustained. Sales cease to be one-offs and become recurring. Consumers cease to be leads and become fans. And the brand, instead of having to shout to stand out, begins to resonate.

But it's in loyalty where everything makes even more sense. Because if selling once is difficult, getting them to choose you again and again requires something deeper: trust. Consistency. Emotional connection. And that can't be achieved with a discount or a retargeting campaign. It's achieved by a brand that delivers on its promises, that makes it clear who it is, and that creates memorable experiences beyond the product.

This is where branding reveals its true power: not just as a tool for attracting customers, but as a foundation for retention. Because when a brand is able to accompany, adapt, and become part of people's lives, loyalty ceases to be a metric and becomes a relationship.

Branding doesn't just make you sell. It makes you unforgettable.

Because the truth is, there are no longer two paths. There's only one: building brands that convert, results that build brands, and relationships that last. Everything else is just noise.

At identty, we help brands that don't want to have to choose between selling and building. Brands that want to leave their mark... and also results.

Can we help you find that point where strategy, emotion, and conversion intersect?