As an industry, we may have become overly fixated on Brand Lift as the holy grail of campaign measurement. Quarter after quarter, marketers proudly tout percentage increases in brand awareness, while boardrooms nod approvingly at colourful graphs showing upticks in brand sentiment. But I propose focusing on another metric with much more value: Search Lift, a true indicator of whether your marketing dollars are actually moving the needle.
Think about it. When someone remembers your TV spot or catchy jingle, what does that really tell you? Sure, they might smile when they think of your brand, but there is no action behind it. Brand Lift studies essentially measure how good you are at getting people to remember that your brand exists. But if you’re an ice cream or yogurt brand and someone with a lactose allergy remembers your ad, how is that valuable for you? In today's competitive marketplace, mere recognition isn't enough. Instead, we need signals of genuine interest and intent.
Capturing real behaviour
Search Lift, on the other hand, captures actual human behaviour. When someone takes the time to type a category or even your brand name into a search bar, that's not just passive recognition, it's genuine interest. For example, if someone searches for ‘best dog foods’ or ‘top Harrington's lines’, they’re raising their hand to say, "Tell me more."
In today's digital-first world, search is often the first step on the path to purchase. It's the digital equivalent of someone walking into your store, and that intent information is essential for success.
The pitfalls of relying on Brand Lift
There's a reason why survey responses rarely align with actual purchase behaviour. We're relying on people to report their own awareness and sentiment changes accurately through surveys. People say what they think they should say, not what they actually believe or how they'll actually behave.
To illustrate, when asked on a survey about how often they eat fast food each week, people are likely to report a lower amount than they actually consume. Moreover, Brand Lift studies suffer from a fundamental attribution problem. In a world where consumers are bombarded with thousands of brand messages daily, how can you isolate the impact of a single campaign on awareness? It's like trying to figure out which raindrop caused the flood. Did that person remember your brand because of your latest campaign, or because they saw your logo on a football stadium last weekend? Brand Lift can't answer that.
The advantage of Search Lift
Search Lift doesn't have these problems. It's pure, unfiltered behavioural data. When searches for your brand spike after a campaign launches, that's not a coincidence. Instead, it shows real interest in a brand. For instance, if a consumer is searching for specific beers from Athletic Brewing, they’re showing interest in that brand over other non-alcoholic beverages.
Better yet, increased search activity has a clear line to ROI. More searches mean more website visits, more consideration, and ultimately, more sales. Studies have consistently shown that search lift has a stronger correlation with actual sales than Brand Lift metrics. When people search for your brand, they're actively entering your marketing funnel. They're demonstrating intent, and intent is what drives real business results.
But perhaps the most compelling argument for prioritising Search Lift is its role in the modern customer journey. Today's consumers don't passively absorb advertising and then march into stores to make purchases; they research and read reviews, all through search. A consumer might see your ad and register some vague positive sentiment, but it's when they search for your brand or product that they're actually moving toward a purchase decision. Search Lift sits perfectly between Brand Lift and Sales Lift. It looks at mid-funnel consideration, reflecting the 'tipping point' in the customer journey.
Building the case
This isn't to say Brand Lift doesn’t have its place. Building brand awareness and positive associations still matters, especially for new or emerging brands. But it's time to stop treating it as the primary measure of campaign effectiveness.
Brand Lift should be viewed as a supporting metric, not the star of the show. In a world where every marketing dollar needs to prove its worth, Search Lift provides the hard evidence we need to justify our investments and optimise our strategies.
The implications for marketers are clear. First, we must design campaigns that drive search behaviour, not just awareness. This means creating compelling reasons for consumers to want to learn more. Second, we need to shift our measurement priorities. Invest in robust search analytics and attribution modelling instead of spending huge budgets on brand tracking studies. Finally, we need to integrate search and brand strategies better, recognising that the real magic happens when increased awareness translates into active search behaviour.
The next time you're planning a campaign measurement strategy, putting Search Lift at the centre will give you a clearer picture of whether your marketing efforts are actually working. In the end, isn't that what measurement is all about?