Beyond the Click: Redefining the Full-Funnel Growth Strategy in the Era of High-Consideration Marketing
Attribution is a double-edged sword in modern marketing, offering the promise of precision while frequently trapping brands in a cycle of short-term optimization that erodes long-term value. This central tension in the current marketing landscape took center stage at Brandweek 2026, where industry leaders gathered to dissect the shifting paradigms of consumer engagement. During a featured session on the Marketing Vanguard stage, Jenny Rooney, a veteran observer of the industry, hosted Amanda Teder, Chief Marketing Officer of Generac, to discuss the complexities of steering marketing strategy in high-consideration, high-value product categories.
The conversation, held against the backdrop of an evolving digital landscape, moved beyond the standard playbook of lead generation. For companies like Generac, which provides energy solutions for both residential and industrial applications, the consumer purchase journey is rarely linear. It is a process often measured in months or years, requiring a sophisticated orchestration of demand generation, nurturing, and post-purchase support that traditional, bottom-funnel attribution models often fail to capture.
The Evolution of the Marketing Operating Model
Amanda Teder’s career, which spans two decades at Procter & Gamble followed by a tenure at Michelin, has been defined by a consistent philosophy: marketing must be a repeatable engine for growth, rooted in a deep understanding of the business’s core levers. At Generac, Teder has applied this methodology to build a full-funnel operating model that transcends the traditional boundaries of the marketing department.
In the context of the current market, where the consumer path to purchase is fragmented across multiple touchpoints, Teder’s approach challenges the industry’s heavy reliance on last-click attribution. By integrating demand generation with sales enablement and rigorous post-purchase engagement, Generac aims to ensure that interest is not merely captured but effectively converted into long-term revenue. This integration is critical in categories where the product—such as a backup generator—is a significant capital investment.
The Attribution Trap: Why Measurement Can Shrink Strategy
One of the most provocative points raised during the Brandweek 2026 discussion was the counter-intuitive impact of modern analytics on strategic direction. Teder argued that an over-reliance on attribution often forces marketers to prioritize the bottom of the funnel. Because conversions at the point of sale are the easiest to track, marketing budgets are disproportionately skewed toward lower-funnel activities.
This phenomenon, often referred to as "measurement bias," creates a systemic risk for brands. By focusing exclusively on what can be immediately attributed, organizations risk neglecting the brand-building and demand-generation work that is essential for filling the funnel. Teder’s perspective echoes a growing consensus among CMOs that the pursuit of "perfect" data can lead to a shrinking of the overall marketing strategy. If the goal of measurement is to sharpen strategy, current practices—which often prioritize immediate return on ad spend (ROAS) over brand health—are arguably having the opposite effect.
Integrating AI: The Priority of Human Judgment
The discourse surrounding Artificial Intelligence in marketing was a recurring theme throughout Brandweek 2026. Teder offered a sobering perspective on the integration of AI, suggesting that the industry is currently framing the debate around the wrong questions. The prevailing narrative of "AI versus humans" overlooks the more fundamental issue: the necessity of strategic intent.
According to Teder, the implementation of AI tools should be preceded by a clear articulation of why the work exists in the first place. Without a foundation of strategy, prioritization, and human judgment, automation only serves to accelerate inefficiency. By applying AI to processes before defining the strategic "taste" or intent, companies risk scaling their mistakes at an unprecedented velocity. For the modern CMO, the challenge is not just to automate, but to ensure that automation serves the long-term objectives of the brand.
Building Systems for Repeatable Growth
Teder characterizes herself as a "builder," a self-awareness that has defined her transition across diverse industries. Whether dealing with consumer packaged goods at P&G or industrial solutions at Generac, the core competency remains the same: identifying the critical growth levers and building the organizational infrastructure to support them.
In a high-consideration category like energy resilience, the "finish line" is not the initial lead. The complexity of the sale—which often involves contractors, utility providers, and homeowners—requires a sophisticated nurture process. Generac’s model emphasizes the importance of maintaining a presence throughout the customer journey, from the initial research phase to the technical installation and long-term maintenance. This approach reflects a shift toward "customer-centric ecosystem management," where the brand acts as a partner rather than a vendor.
Context and Industry Background: Brandweek 2026
Brandweek 2026 serves as a bellwether for the marketing industry, representing a period where the convergence of privacy regulations, the decline of third-party cookies, and the maturation of generative AI have forced a fundamental reassessment of marketing value. The sessions, including the vidcast series presented in partnership with Tatari, highlighted a move away from the "growth at all costs" mentality that dominated the early 2020s toward a more balanced focus on sustainable, system-driven growth.
Industry data supports the challenges Teder highlighted. According to recent reports from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the gap between brand building and performance marketing continues to widen, with many firms reporting that their inability to measure mid-funnel influence leads to chronic under-investment in brand awareness. The session with Teder underscored that the solution is not more data, but a better framework for interpreting the data already at hand.
Implications for the Future of CMO Leadership
The implications of Teder’s strategy for the broader marketing profession are significant. First, it suggests that the role of the CMO is moving back toward core business operations. As the digital landscape becomes more complex, the ability to synthesize disparate data points into a cohesive narrative—what Teder describes as "judgment and taste"—is becoming the primary differentiator for leadership.
Second, the emphasis on building systems rather than chasing trends suggests a cooling of the industry’s fascination with "shiny object" marketing. For organizations looking to replicate the success of companies like Generac, the lesson is clear: long-term growth is not found in the latest algorithmic hack, but in the rigorous, often unglamorous work of mapping the customer journey and aligning organizational resources to support it.
Fact-Based Analysis of the Full-Funnel Model
The "full-funnel" approach is not merely a theoretical construct; it is a response to the changing economics of customer acquisition. As the cost per lead (CPL) continues to rise across major digital advertising platforms, businesses that rely solely on paid search and social media for quick conversions are finding their margins under pressure.
By contrast, companies that invest in nurture—email marketing, educational content, and personalized sales enablement—can lower their blended cost of acquisition over time. Generac’s strategy of connecting post-purchase support back to the initial acquisition phase creates a virtuous cycle of customer loyalty and word-of-mouth growth. This, in turn, reduces the company’s dependency on expensive, short-term performance marketing.
Conclusion
The session at the Marketing Vanguard stage at Brandweek 2026 served as a reminder that while the tools of marketing continue to evolve, the fundamentals of business remain constant. Amanda Teder’s insights provide a roadmap for navigating the current paradox of measurement. By prioritizing strategic judgment over the siren song of immediate attribution, and by viewing the customer journey as a long-term relationship rather than a series of disconnected clicks, marketing leaders can build more resilient, growth-oriented organizations.
As the industry moves further into the latter half of the decade, the ability to balance the technical precision of modern analytics with the human-centric art of brand building will likely be the definitive trait of successful CMOs. The experience at Generac stands as a testament to the fact that when systems are built with clarity, and when the objective is long-term value rather than short-term vanity, marketing becomes a powerful, repeatable force for sustainable growth.
