Introduction

HubSpot cracked the code: stop choosing between brand or demand. Treat marketing like a media business to win on both fronts.

What's the problem it solves?

Most B2B marketers feel forced to choose: chase short-term leads with demand gen or play the long game with brand building. This divide wastes resources and weakens results.

Quick Summary

The article explains how HubSpot shifted from traditional content marketing to running their marketing like a media company. Instead of putting brand and demand into separate silos, they built a system that allows both to feed into each other. The key idea: create content that delivers ongoing value, much like a media brand does, rather than just pushing campaigns.

Kyle Denhoff, HubSpot’s Senior Director of Marketing, stresses that great marketing teams need editorial-level talent, not just ad copywriters. That means hiring video producers, journalists, and editors who know how to tell engaging stories and grow audiences. With this approach, HubSpot now operates with a 60/40 split between demand and brand content, blending the two into a stronger overall engine.

They also changed how they measure success. Instead of looking at isolated metrics, they connect brand lift to pipeline results. This lets them prove how building an audience directly contributes to sales. For companies, the lesson is simple: stop thinking in “either-or” terms. Build media-style properties like newsletters, podcasts, and video shows that grow trust, while also converting that trust into leads and sales.

Key Takeaways

• Marketing shouldn’t be split into brand vs demand - both should work together.
• Think like a media company: always-on, high-value, binge-worthy content.
• Hire people with journalism and storytelling skills, not just ad backgrounds.
• Build media properties (shows, newsletters, podcasts) instead of one-off campaigns.
• Track both brand and demand metrics, and show how one fuels the other.
• Balance shifts depending on company stage, but both sides must stay active.

What to do

• Audit your current content: are you over-weighted on either brand or demand?
• Start building one media property (newsletter, podcast, video series) with consistent publishing.
• Hire or upskill for media skills like interviewing, storytelling, and video production.
• Use ACOM (Audience-Content-Offer Match) to turn offers into natural extensions of your content.
• Set up dual attribution reporting that ties brand growth to pipeline results.
• Treat audience growth (subscribers, viewers, readers) as a strategic asset, not a side effect.

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