Why brands must rethink the marketing funnel

India’s economic outlook is shifting—GDP growth projections are being revised downward, inflation is tightening consumer spending, and buying habits continue to evolve. In response, brands are resorting to a familiar survival instinct—cutting costs, doubling down on performance marketing, and chasing immediate ROI.

With every rupee under scrutiny, boardroom discussions are leaning towards lower-funnel tactics. If a campaign doesn’t deliver instant results (clicks, conversions), it is sidelined. But here is the problem. This hyper-focus on short-term gains is like crash-dieting before a wedding—it might work, but only temporarily. Ignoring the upper funnel is akin to cutting off oxygen to your brand’s health.

A recent Dentsu study shows that nearly 90% of CMOs see media as a strategic business growth driver. Yet, in India, many brands still operate in silos, separating brand-building and performance marketing teams. This fragmented approach leads to missed opportunities and more importantly, results in inefficient spending.

One of the biggest myths about a full-funnel strategy is that it demands massive budgets. In reality, it is about spending smarter. A holistic approach ensures every stage of the funnel works together, optimising both—short-term conversions and long-term brand equity.

Upper funnel: Building awareness and consideration

The upper funnel is where awareness transforms into admiration, setting the stage for everything that follows. However, measuring something as intangible as brand perception requires more than just reach and frequency metrics.

Brand lift studies (BLS) measure how users perceive a brand after exposure to a campaign, tracking key metrics such as recall, awareness, favourability, and consideration. For instance, if a CTV campaign shows the highest purchase intent lift with a frequency of two to three times per week, brands can adjust frequency settings for the rest of their campaign.

Mid funnel: Converting interest into intent

At this stage, consumers are actively seen considering their options. Measuring consideration-driven actions provides brands with a clearer signal for optimisation compared to clicks or site visits. However, many brands struggle to connect upper-funnel efforts with mid-funnel behaviour.

A framework like inferred brand intent (IBI) helps bridge this gap by analysing mid-funnel behaviours that indicate a deeper interest. For example, an automotive ad’s effectiveness can be measured by tracking increased visits to car research websites. Furthermore, by monitoring relevant keywords (such as brand or product names) and assessing how user behaviour changes before and after ad exposure, brands can gain a clearer view of how awareness efforts translate into intent.

Additionally, footfall data connects online engagement with offline behaviour, measuring consideration as well as conversion. For example, footfall attribution solutions track how digital campaigns drive visits to car showrooms. By analysing consented mobile location data, brands can refine campaign strategies based on real-world behaviours, such as the number of people and patterns of time spent in these showrooms.

Lower funnel: Turning intent into action

This is the moment of truth—where interest transforms into a sale.

Imagine a parent catching up on a drama series on their favourite OTT platform in the evening. Earlier that day, they purchased baby food and diapers from a quick commerce platform, a clear signal that they have a young child. Using consented, shopper data based on actual retail transactions, an FMCG brand can now target this shopper across OTT/CTV streaming platforms, audio platforms, news sites, and mobile apps—beyond the quick commerce platform. It’s no longer just about placing ads, it is about strategically appearing in the right moments when purchase decisions are formed.

Retail data allows marketers to track real-world outcomes, meaning, if this parent purchases after seeing the ad, the campaign’s success is directly measurable. No guesswork, no attribution gaps, just real consumer behaviour driving real results.

Importantly, brands don’t have to wait until the campaign ends to see what is working. Not all ads perform equally. Retail data enables real-time optimisation, supporting dynamic budget shifts. If OTT viewers convert at twice the rate of display ad audiences, marketers can instantly reallocate spending. If a specific creative resonates with millennial parents, investments can pivot in real-time to maximise the ROI.

A smarter funnel for sustainable growth

McKinsey found that companies that place marketing at the core of their growth strategies are twice as likely to have a greater than 5% annual growth. This reinforces the fact that marketing isn’t an expense to be minimised, it is a strategic growth engine.

The winning brands will be those that shift from viewing marketing as a linear path to seeing it as a dynamic, interconnected system. By breaking down silos between brand-building and performance marketing, harnessing real-world data, and optimising in real-time, marketers can move beyond short-term gains to build long-term, sustainable growth.

The marketing funnel isn’t dead, it is evolving. The brands that thrive will be those that adapt, integrate, and invest smarter.

— Tejinder Gill, managing director, The Trade Desk.