Brand vs. Direct Response: Advertising’s Achilles Heel With Preston Rutherford

Up Arrow Podcast

Preston Rutherford is the Co-founder of Marathon Data, which measures revenue from brand-building efforts. He also co-founded Chubbies Shorts, a men’s apparel brand, and Loop, a software company that streamlines the returns and exchanges process for e-commerce brands. Before exiting Chubbies, Preston grew the brand to $100 million, drove over one billion video views, garnered four million social media followers, and became the most-viewed men’s apparel brand on social media.

In this episode…

Performance marketing is a useful strategy for generating and measuring initial clicks, leads, and conversions, but it doesn’t foster audience engagement or retain consumers long-term. Similarly, while ROAS measures efficiency from these ad campaigns, it fails to measure their engagement across channels. What metrics should brands track, and how can they shift from direct response and performance marketing to brand engagement?

Multimillion-dollar brand builder Preston Rutherford warns that focusing solely on ROAS stunts long-term goals; instead, brands should track effectiveness metrics that measure customer lifetime value. You can acquire and retain customers through brand-building and awareness campaigns that leverage engagement-driven content. Each content piece you produce or share establishes your reputation, so you should create campaigns intentionally to build a resonant brand story.

Tune in to the latest episode of the Up Arrow Podcast as William Harris chats with Preston Rutherford, the Co-founder of Marathon Data, about creating brand marketing content. Preston explains the 95 rule, how he recovered his brand from bankruptcy, and his engaging text and email marketing approach.