How do you navigate the tension between sales-driven short-term goals and demand gen’s focus on long-term brand building?

Great question - such a true description of the tension so often experienced between sales and marketing.

Fortunately, there's great news - you can do both. Good brand makes your demand easier. I repeat - good brand makes your demand easier.

In practice, this means doing both together. You can drive forms of targeted (targeted being the key word here) brand awareness through channels like display advertising in tandem with your demand generation.

This is honestly such a great tactic if your organization does not have an appetite for longer-term brand building. Do it in tandem with your demand efforts, targeting the same set of accounts with an integrated approach.