You’re Not Using FFC, FFS!? How Full-Funnel Creative Fuels Growth
By Chris Donovan
Chris Donovan is MuteSix’s Head of Creative and Content, bringing with him 20+ years of experience leading global, omnichannel teams across streaming, broadcast, cable, and CPG. His award-winning work has captured audiences for leading entertainment companies and ad agencies alike.
Full-funnel creative isn’t just some passing campaign strategy; it’s a paradigm shift that’s necessary to stand out and sustain business.
It’s no secret that the world of marketing is a crowded and chaotic one.
Brands are in overdrive trying to leave their mark in a landscape that is constantly evolving. In this brave new marketing world, everything a brand says and does contributes to the brand.
With that in mind, the importance of a full-funnel creative approach, one that unites brand and performance marketing, can’t be overstated – especially given 96% of visitors are not ready to make a purchase when they land on a website.
So, what is this full-funnel creative (FCC) you speak of?
FFC combines the subjectivity of brand building with the objectivity of performance marketing data through synergistic teams, measurement solutions, and creative production.
With FFC, brands become relevant to their customers, marketers obtain a more accurate picture of their advertising’s effectiveness, and businesses generate value without having to ratchet up their spend.
FFC isn’t a volume strategy that requires brands to produce and run more creative across each funnel stage just to be a content machine. It’s about understanding how every curated asset – at every stage – complements the others and rounds out today’s customer journey.
For example, FFC takes into account how your media spend across CTV can boost the impact of your social media campaigns or how social media campaigns can generate new email subscribers to nurture and close the loop.
And yet, despite the obvious benefits of uniting and leveraging brand and performance through an FCC approach, some marketers are downright fearful of even implementing FFC into their overall strategy!
But, the only way to master fear is to understand it.
When you dig into the inner workings of FFC, you immediately see how you engage with customers at each stage of their shopping journey, from initial awareness all the way through to conversion and retention.
FFC sees your customers how they want to be seen, not as a monolithic group of spenders, but as unique individuals with real-world needs and preferences that are constantly evolving.
Given the heightened competition on platforms like TikTok, brands need to mute the noise and win high-intent audiences. This means brands must be patient enough to A/B test every hook and CTA, and adaptive enough to pivot their messaging and marketing tactics accordingly.
With FFC, brands can develop messaging that speaks to the customer’s needs when, how, and wherever they are in the funnel. FFC understands the need to create ads that capture attention at the top of the funnel with snappy taglines and eye popping imagery is just as important the messaging necessary to remarket to on-the-cusp customers with specific product benefits and features to seal the proverbial deal with intent to buy.
Easier said than done, however. The FFC approach is not just about churning out creative assets.
FFC is about uniting brand and performance marketing, through a shared vision of success. Too often, these two sides of the marketing coin can seem like they’re in competition with each other, with legacy brand marketers focusing on emotional connections and new media performance marketers concentrating on quick-boosting product messaging.
So, when brand and performance marketing work together, the result is a full-funnel approach that can deliver on both brand AND performance objectives. FFC can help media buyers optimize ad spend to ensure that every dollar is a dollar well spent and creative can pivot their messaging and visuals as needed to stop the scroll and stay ahead of the competition.
Remember, this approach is not without its challenges. It requires a deep understanding of the customer, paid media platforms and their audiences, as well as a willingness to experiment and iterate until you find what works. It requires collaboration and communication between teams. And it is fueled by a dedication to measuring and analyzing data every step of the way to ensure that your campaign is on the right track.
In other words, a full-funnel approach that unites brand and performance marketing is not for the faint of heart.
But, for those who are willing to take on the challenge, the rewards can be immense. By fine-tuning creative to best engage with customers throughout their journey, brands can build long-term relationships that drive not only sales but lasting loyalty.
Take Twillory, for example. The mens clothing brand worked with MuteSix to double revenue in just 12 months by creating a diversified, full-funnel content mix optimized for success by paid social efforts.
So let’s embrace the full-funnel approach with open arms. Let us unite brand and performance marketing in a unified shared vision of success.
And let MuteSix help you embrace the chaos and uncertainty of the brave new marketing world with courage and conviction. For in doing so, together we may discover that the greatest rewards lie on the other side of our fears.
Stay tuned for more FFC tips on how to win not only clicks but shiny awards that celebrate the power of FFC.
