The article linked above is a thinly veiled advertisement for Omar Tawakol’s company Revenue Science, but it’s well worth reading to understand some important nuances they have correctly identified in the development of marketing and advertising strategies.
When thinking in a brand mode, the metrics and goals entirely ignore the natural process. An impression is an impression, and that is that. There is no distinction between an impression that reaches a target and an impression that reaches someone who isn’t even thinking of a vacation. There are finer nuances that are ignored as well, such as between a traveler who has already decided on buying versus someone who is still deciding between a cruise and a road trip.
With direct response, we have the opposite problem. If the call to action doesn’t achieve a sale today, through this link, right now, it is worthless. There is no consideration of the customer’s decision process; there is only an end point.
If you want your marketing strategy to be sustainable, then you have to see the decision process through the eyes of the audience. You have to be willing to manange a complex set of messages because your target represents a diverse group of people with different stores of knowledge and readiness to learn. No easy way about it.
QVIews 
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