What is the Performance Marketing Treadmill?
We’ve recently noticed a growing trend: emerging digital-first consumer brands are stuck on the performance marketing treadmill and turning to the impact of PR for assistance.
The performance marketing treadmill model starts out promising for young D2C brands as they utilize paid digital marketing channels (paid social, paid search, programmatic display) to scale quickly based on effective customer acquisition and return on ad spend. Short-term success yields fast, measurable results, but inevitably, this approach leads to pouring more and more money into the mix.
Soon, the scaling encounters a hurdle as competition increases and platforms like Meta and Google raise ad costs. Brands start feeling trapped in an unsustainable cycle of rising acquisition costs and diminishing returns, compelling them to spend more just to sustain the same level of performance.
Price Over Brand Affinity
Digital customers acquired through performance marketing channels tend to prioritize price over brand loyalty. This transactional relationship allows performance marketing to effectively generate first-time buyers, but it may have difficulty encouraging repeat purchases, resulting in a low customer lifetime value (LTV).
Without a robust brand presence outside of paid channels, customer retention rates remain low, leading to increased reliance on ongoing ad spend investment. This is where Public Relations makes a significant impact. A strategic investment that requires time to develop, PR yields compounding returns over time. Let’s break it down.
The Enduring Impact of PR:
Google PPC and Meta ads are effective short-term channels, but they cease to deliver results once the budget is exhausted. Eventually, brands must supplement this short-term self-promotion with an investment in establishing long-term third-party validation. The reality is that 92% of consumers trust earned media more than ads. PR enhances brand credibility and authority in a crowded marketplace while increasing brand and product awareness as media share of voice is gained. All of this contributes to increased trust with consumers.
The Evergreen Nature of PR
The impact of PR is evergreen, remaining searchable and shareable over time, meaning that a piece of PR coverage continues delivering value long after the initial investment. For instance, our clients pay a monthly retainer, and we collaborate with media to secure ongoing coverage that showcases their brand story and products. The results of that initial outreach to media don’t show up immediately and may take weeks, months, and in rare cases up to a year to deliver. As our client’s partner, we keep the PR pipeline full so that quality coverage is continually published. In many cases, this coverage is digital and often delivers website referral traffic for months after it’s published.
Let’s use a real-world example. Take this October 2024 piece we generated in Travel & Leisure. Since it was published, it has sent over 1,110 clicks to our client’s website.
Calculating Impact Over Time
Since this coverage links directly to the brand’s website, we can compare performance over time with Meta and Google Search advertising channels using platform averages for the Cost per Click (CPC) metric. To do this, we first have to establish the cost of the PR coverage using a calculation that looks at multiple data points, including the cost of the PR retainer, the coverage we’ve secured for the client year to date, and the number of website referrals attributed to the piece of coverage.
Since a piece of coverage can drive referral traffic for months after the initial publishing date, the impact continues to build long after the original investment. Here is what this looks like in comparison to other digital advertising methods:
| Metric | PR: T+L piece | Facebook Avg. | Instagram Avg. | Google Search Avg. |
| Oct. CPC | $0.42 | $0.68 | $1.22 | $1.16 |
| Feb. CPC | $0.17 | $0.85 | $1.35 | $1.16 |
In this instance, the CPC in October 2024 is $0.42, but by February 2025, the CPC decreases to $0.17, significantly lower than the averages for Facebook, Instagram, and Google Search.
Of course, not all pieces of coverage provide referral traffic like this, but this example illustrates how PR can have a lasting effect long after the initial investment.
Maximizing PR Investment
PR’s value can and should extend beyond securing editorial coverage. Brands can get extra mileage out of PR coverage by repurposing it across their additional marketing channels. Here are a few examples we suggest:
Leverage 3rd-Party Endorsements for Paid Channels
Respected third-party endorsements featured in paid campaigns help establish credibility, particularly for customers who are in the exploratory phase of their journey. Use pull quotes and logos (ensure adherence to usage rights guidelines) from impressive coverage to enhance its effectiveness and impact.
Highlight Banner Coverage and Product Awards
Consider showcasing banner press coverage on the paid campaign landing pages. This will enhance third-party validation and likely boost site engagement from referral traffic. On product landing pages, highlight product awards received from PR. After all, an award-winning product has a nice ring to it.
Boost Brand Reputation and Grow Owned Audience
Looking to grow your email subscribers and social followers? Enhance your brand reputation with new followers by sharing exceptional coverage in various ways:
- Highlight a specific product use case from a piece of PR coverage in your brand’s email welcome sequence.
- Showcase a recent press win in your monthly email campaign.
- Increase social content by sharing recent coverage in your Instagram stories.
- Offer a behind-the-scenes experience to your social community on how media tested your product in different situations.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that PR is a strategic investment that compounds over time and complements performance marketing efforts. When seeking a long-term solution to escape the performance marketing treadmill, brand marketing directors should evaluate the long-term value that PR can deliver and its role in their overall marketing mix. Remember, the value does not diminish once a piece of coverage is published. PR continues to generate results and can create further impact when amplified across additional brand marketing channels.
Learn more about our approach to PR and how we can produce lasting results that enhance authority, build reputation, and garner third-party validation.