A new study of senior South African marketers has found that the long-running debate over whether marketing budgets should favour brand building or performance marketing is becoming increasingly irrelevant, with leading organisations viewing the two disciplines as complementary rather than competing priorities.
The research, The Growth Equation: How South Africa’s Leading Marketers are Balancing Brand Building and Performance Marketing, is based on in-depth interviews with 40 senior marketers from some of South Africa’s largest organisations.
IAS CEO and founder Johanna McDowell said the research was designed to provide an objective view of how leading marketing teams are approaching growth. “We thought about bringing in a sponsor, but we wanted to own our own IP and produce something brands and agencies could actually use,” she said.
McDowell added that the study was not intended to prescribe best practice. “We wanted to create a shared picture of what’s actually happening inside leading marketing teams, not tell anyone how to do their job. If marketers and agencies understand each other’s pressures a bit better, they can build stronger partnerships and get better returns on both sides.”
Practical industry insights
Conducted between March and May 2026, the study was commissioned and funded by the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) as part of its 20th anniversary commitment to contribute practical industry insights.
According to the findings, marketers overwhelmingly believe that sustained brand investment creates the trust and recognition that performance marketing later converts into sales.
“Brand marketing is almost the foundation of the house. It’s the quality of brick. It’s the quality of mortar. It’s what everything else gets built on,” one respondent said.
Despite this consensus, the study found that budget allocation remains under pressure. While most respondents believe brand marketing deserves a larger share of investment, economic uncertainty and the demand for measurable short-term returns continue to shift spending towards performance marketing.
Evolving relationships
The research also explored how relationships between marketers and agencies are evolving. Many organisations now operate hybrid models, with internal marketing teams leading strategy while specialist agencies manage brand and performance functions separately.
Others have consolidated both disciplines under a single agency partner, while an increasing number of companies are bringing performance marketing, digital analytics and data management in-house.
Several respondents said the move was driven less by cost savings than by the need to retain ownership of customer data and institutional knowledge.
“We brought performance in-house because we needed to own the data. When we changed agencies, we lost years of insight. That won’t happen again,” one marketer said.
The findings will be released over the coming months through industry presentations, executive summaries, articles, video content and a full white paper, with participating marketers receiving early access to the research.
