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Teaching notes · lesson 7 · a 20-minute class

Brand and activation: your own split

Sales now, or sales for years. Tracks: Media.

Open the lesson

Learning goalsBy the end, students can

  • Tell brand-building media from activation and describe how each pays back over time.
  • Explain adstock (carry-over) in plain words.
  • Explain why the 60:40 split is a benchmark rather than a rule for one brand.

The 20-minute classMinute by minute, with the lab on the projector

  1. 0:003 min, to 3:00

    Cold open

    Ask: a finance director says brand media returns less than activation this quarter, so cut it. Agree or disagree?

  2. 3:004 min, to 7:00

    The idea

    Draw two decay curves: a tall, fast one for activation and a low, long one for brand. Name it adstock.

  3. 7:005 min, to 12:00

    Lab on the projector

    Split the budget all to activation, then all to brand, then 60:40. Read this year and next year for each.

  4. 12:003 min, to 15:00

    Pairs

    Pairs say what horizon the finance director is using, and what it misses.

  5. 15:003 min, to 18:00

    Discussion

    Take the drift question: why do budgets slide towards activation year after year?

  6. 18:002 min, to 20:00

    Check

    Three lesson questions. Back to the cold open: who has changed their mind?

Discussion questionsWith what a strong answer covers

  1. Why do budgets judged quarter by quarter drift towards activation?

    A strong answer covers
    • Activation's return lands in the quarter and is easy to measure.
    • Brand media's return arrives over two or more years.
    • The drift erodes memory and future growth.

  2. Is 60:40 the right split for every brand?

    A strong answer covers
    • It is an average across IPA cases, not a rule.
    • The best split moves with category, position and horizon.
    • Countermove works out a brand's own split.

  3. What does brand media do besides add sales later?

    A strong answer covers
    • Builds mental availability.
    • Lowers price sensitivity, so later quarters sell at a better price.
    • Notes the asset fades slowly after spend stops.

The lab as homeworkAbout 15 minutes for a student

Use the lab to see what one year's split leaves behind for the next.

  1. Try an all-activation split and note this year and next year.
  2. Try a brand-led split and note both years.
  3. Find the split that does best over both years together.

They answer: Which split did best this year, which did best over two years, and why are they different?

A strong answer covers
  • Quotes the lab for at least two splits.
  • Shows activation wins this year and brand does better a year on.
  • Explains carry-over and memory.

Students also answer the lesson's three questions. Their score is worked out on the server from their answers.

Set this lab as homework

Students open a link, do the lab, answer the three questions and write what they found. You see each student's quiz score and finding on your class page.

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