Performance Ads vs Influencers: Smart CMOs Reveal Where They're Moving Their Budgets

Introduction

In today's digital marketing landscape, CMOs face a critical decision: invest in performance advertising with its measurable results or pursue influencer partnerships for authentic audience co ections. Joe Perello, CEO and co-founder of Props, brings over 30 years of executive experience from roles at MBNA, The New York Yankees, and as New York City's first CMO under Mayor Bloomberg to address this dilemma. His company Props has developed a hybrid approach that combines creator marketing with performance media precision, working with brands like AAA, Aspen Snowmass, and Better Mortgage to drive measurable business outcomes beyond traditional vanity metrics.

The False Dichotomy of Performance vs. Influence

Perello challenges the notion that marketers must choose between performance advertising and influencer marketing. "We're combining creator marketing with the precision and scale of paid media," explains Perello. This hybrid approach leverages the authenticity of creator content while maintaining the targetability, scale, and accountability of performance marketing. The key differentiator in Props' methodology is their commitment to business results rather than engagement metrics, addressing a fundamental gap in traditional influencer marketing where accountability often ends at content delivery.

The Risks of Traditional Influencer Marketing

For marketers weighing their options, Perello candidly acknowledges that pure influencer marketing operates as a "hit business" - a high-volume, high-variability approach where success depends on finding viral content. This model introduces several significant challenges for marketers seeking predictable outcomes. First, there's limited transparency into follower demographics, authenticity, and geographic distribution. Second, the influencer ecosystem introduces operational complexity through agent relationships and content approval processes. Finally, the subjective nature of content creation makes consistent performance difficult to achieve, potentially resulting in wasted marketing dollars without proper guardrails.

The Control Factor

When forced to choose between performance marketing and influencer partnerships, Perello suggests performance marketing offers greater control and accountability in the short term. Performance cha els provide marketers with audience control, response tracking, and the ability to quickly iterate on creative elements. This control becomes particularly important when marketing leaders need to demonstrate clear ROI to organizational stakeholders, making performance marketing the safer choice for those under pressure to show immediate results.

The Integrated Approach: Owned Media's Rebrand

Props' solution represents a strategic rebrand of owned media, combining creator-generated content with the precision targeting of paid media. Rather than relying on an influencer's existing audience, this approach places creator content directly on brand websites and distributes it through controlled paid cha els. This integration eliminates the audience uncertainty of traditional influencer marketing while maintaining the authenticity benefits of creator partnerships. By ensuring content lives on owned properties, brands gain complete control over the customer journey while leveraging the creative capabilities of content creators.

Key Takeaways for Marketing Leaders

The evolving marketing landscape demands approaches that combine the best elements of both performance and influence. For CMOs allocating budgets in today's environment, the lesson is clear: neither pure performance advertising nor traditional influencer marketing alone provides the optimal solution. The future belongs to integrated strategies that maintain the accountability and precision of performance marketing while harnessing the authenticity and creative power of content creators. By focusing on owned media distribution of creator content, marketers can achieve the engagement benefits of influencer marketing with the measurable outcomes of performance cha els – delivering authentic content that drives real business results.