Demand Creation Channels
Demand creation channels are marketing avenues that introduce your brand to new audiences who were not previously looking for you. Examples include Top-of-Funnel Social (Meta/TikTok), YouTube, TV, and Influencer marketing. They usually have lower immediate ROAS but drive high incremental lift and future baseline growth.
The Short Version
Planting the seeds for next harvest.
Often Confused With
The Low ROAS Scare
You launch a YouTube campaign. The Day-1 ROAS is 0.8.
You panic and kill it. You just killed your future growth. Demand Creation takes time to gestate and often shows up as 'Unattributed' or 'Direct' traffic later.
How it works
Targeting: Broad audiences, lookalikes, interest-based
Metric: Low immediate ROAS, High 'New Customer' ratio, High incremental impact on Baseline
Role: Feeding the funnel
Common Misconceptions
Judging Creation channels by Harvesting metrics (e.g., holding YouTube to a Brand Search ROAS target)
Under-investing because attribution can't 'see' the value
expecting immediate returns (Demand Creation has a time-lag)
Related Terms
Frequently Asked Questions
QWhy is it expensive?
Because you are buying attention from strangers. It is harder work than taking an order from a fan, but it is the only way to scale.
QHow do I measure it?
Look at Blended CAC and Portfolio ROI. If you spend on Creation and your total business efficiency holds steady or improves over time, it's working.