Marketing's Missing Middle

A couple of weeks ago we wrapped the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity where everyone was talking about everything from AI (we definitely have hit the inflection point where AI is no longer an anticipation but is rather an expectation!), to cookies, retail media, intersectionality, all the way to empowering personalization. But what didn’t get nearly enough airplay? The missing middle. That quiet, yawning gap between brand buzz and bottom-funnel clicks. The place where emotion meets conversion and, honestly, where most of us are still struggling to connect the dots.

Let’s just call it out: WTF? Why are we ignoring what might be the most powerful unlock in modern marketing strategy?

The missing middle isn’t theory. It’s real. It’s the messy, meaningful place between your brand story and your conversion engine. It’s the customer’s decision zone—where awareness starts morphing into interest and intention. And yet, for far too long, it’s been the most underfunded, underloved space in the funnel.

At the top of the funnel lives brand: big, bold storytelling. Gorgeous campaigns. Emotional resonance. But too often it lacks the marketing technology stack and measurement maturity to convert attention into action.

At the bottom sits performance marketing: efficient, trackable, engineered to deliver clicks. But it can fall flat when it comes to long-term affinity or memorable messaging.

And stuck in the middle? The space where hearts meet habits.

Where you make the customer feel seen, heard, understood—and move them one step closer to saying yes.

This is where the best Chief Marketing Officers are spending their time. Because this is where emotional relevance fuels commercial outcomes. And this is where true full-funnel marketing expertise shows up.

We’re not talking about incremental gains. We’re talking about transformative brand growth.

So yes, let’s talk about brand and performance. But let’s talk about them as part of one integrated, outcome-focused marketing system.

Time for a Reset

And by reset, I don’t mean scrapping everything and starting over. I mean refocusing. Realigning. Remembering that the customer doesn’t care about our internal marketing silos.

They care about clarity. Consistency. Confidence in the choices they’re making.

This is where the best senior marketing leaders shine. They simplify complexity. They unite creative ambition with performance accountability.

Let’s stop overengineering the funnel and start focusing on where the customer actually is—in the middle.

Connecting Brand and Performance Marketing

I’m not here to add to the noise with yet another theory about mid-funnel content. But I will say this: connecting brand and performance marketing starts with organizational culture.

We need fewer turf wars and more shared outcomes.

Brand marketers live for emotion and perception. Performance marketers thrive on conversion metrics. But there is common ground: customer engagement, retention, lifetime value.

When you align your KPIs and open up your insights, you create a culture where creativity and accountability can coexist.

This is the unlock. Not just better campaigns. Better customer experiences. Better business outcomes.

That’s what high-impact marketing leaders are solving for.

When we work from the middle out, we don’t dilute creativity. We amplify it.

We make our work matter more to the people who need to see it most.

Customers shouldn't be navigating the middle alone. We need to meet them there, with empathy and intention.

What He Said…

Nick Law said it best: start from the middle.

It’s where brand love turns into brand action.

Use storytelling to inform. Use performance to guide. Use both to earn the customer’s trust.

Key Considerations When Starting From the Middle

Combine Data with Emotion:

Every smart CMO with digital expertise knows data is just the beginning. We need the story, too. That’s what resonates. That’s what converts.

Creativity + insights = conversion with meaning.

Personalization at Scale:

This isn’t a buzzword. It’s a necessity. Use AI in marketing to scale empathy. Use tech to listen and learn. Then create experiences that feel tailor-made, because they are.

Focus on Value:

Customers don’t need more noise. They need clarity.

it’s not just about what your product does. It’s about why it matters to that customer, right now.

The Missing Middle Is Our Moment

This is where the future of executive marketing leadership is headed.

Brand and performance are not at odds. They’re on the same team. And the middle is where they play together.

If we want to drive long-term value, build better customer relationships, and grow sustainable business outcomes, we start here.

Let’s meet in the middle. And lead from there.