Growth Marketing vs Demand Generation: What’s the Difference?

by Frankie Karrer

6 Min Read

Building your brand through digital marketing efforts is a process that requires balance and precision. You’ll need to leverage multiple tactics at once, all while ensuring you don’t ignore any key segments of your customer base. One of the key challenges you’ll face involves finding a happy medium between two particular practices: growth marketing vs. demand generation.

However, before you can balance your investments in these two tactics, it’s important to understand what they are — and the differences between them.

What Is Growth Marketing?

Growth marketing is a data-driven approach focused on continuously optimizing customer acquisition, engagement, and retention through experimentation and personalization. Unlike traditional marketing, which prioritizes short-term wins, growth marketing refines strategies across the entire customer journey to drive sustainable, long-term business growth.

Benefits of Growth Marketing

Growth marketing offers many advantages for businesses, including:

Data-Driven Decision Making – Uses analytics and experimentation to refine marketing efforts and maximize performance.
Full-Funnel Optimization – Enhances every stage of the customer journey, from awareness to retention, for sustainable growth.
Customer-Centric Approach – Focuses on delivering personalized experiences that drive engagement and loyalty.
Scalability – Leverages automation and continuous testing to expand successful strategies across multiple channels.
Cost Efficiency – Reduces wasted ad spend by focusing on high-performing tactics that yield long-term returns.

Strategies for Growth Marketing

A successful growth marketing strategy requires a blend of experimentation, personalization, and automation to drive continuous improvement.

A/B Testing and Experimentation – Continuously test ad creatives, landing pages, and messaging to optimize conversions.
Lifecycle Marketing – Create tailored campaigns for different stages of the customer journey to nurture long-term relationships.
Referral and Viral Marketing – Encourage satisfied customers to spread the word through incentives and social sharing.
Personalized Content and Messaging – Deliver dynamic, data-driven content that resonates with specific audience segments.
Marketing Automation – Use AI and machine learning to streamline repetitive tasks and personalize interactions at scale.

Not sure where to start? See the top growth marketing channels.

What Is Demand Generation?

Demand generation is a marketing strategy focused on creating brand awareness, attracting high-intent prospects, and nurturing them into potential customers. It spans multiple channels—such as content marketing, paid media, and events—to educate and engage audiences at the top of the funnel.

Benefits of Demand Generation

Demand generation offers many advantages, including:

Brand Authority and Thought Leadership – Positions your brand as an industry leader through valuable content and insights.
Higher Quality Leads – Attracts prospects who are already engaged and interested, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
Multi-Channel Visibility – Expands reach by leveraging a variety of demand generation channels to generate awareness.
Shorter Sales Cycles – Warms up leads early in the process, making it easier for sales teams to close deals faster.
Consistent Lead Pipeline – Ensures a steady flow of engaged prospects, reducing reliance on short-term marketing efforts.

Strategies for Demand Generation

A good demand generation strategy requires strategic planning and execution across multiple channels to attract and nurture potential customers.

Content Marketing and SEO – Create high-value content optimized for search to attract inbound traffic and organic leads.
Webinars and Virtual Events – Engage audiences with interactive, educational experiences that showcase expertise.
Paid Media Campaigns – Leverage programmatic ads, Connected TV, and PPC to amplify brand awareness.
Social Media Engagement – Build communities and spark conversations to increase visibility and brand affinity.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) – Target high-value accounts with personalized campaigns to drive demand within key audiences.

Want to see it in action? Take a look at these demand generation examples.

Growth Marketing vs Demand Generation

Understanding the subtle differences between growth marketing vs. demand generation will help you decide when to use each set of tactics. With that in mind, these strategies differ along three key areas: focus, objectives, and tactics.

Goals and Focus

Growth marketing prioritizes long-term, scalable success by continuously optimizing customer acquisition, engagement, and retention strategies across the entire funnel.
Demand generation focuses on building brand awareness and attracting high-quality leads at the top of the funnel to create a steady pipeline of potential customers.

Tactics and Execution

Growth marketing relies on A/B testing, automation, and personalized messaging to refine campaigns and maximize customer lifetime value.
Demand generation leverages content marketing, paid media, and social engagement to drive awareness and educate potential buyers before they enter the sales funnel.

Measurement and Success Metrics

Success in growth marketing is measured through marketing metrics like customer retention, lifetime value (CLV), and conversion rate optimization.
Demand generation performance is evaluated through lead quality, brand engagement, and marketing-influenced pipeline growth.

Importance of Full Funnel Marketing

Though the differences between demand generation vs. growth marketing are clear, integrating both practices into a cohesive full-funnel marketing strategy will yield the best results.

Without top-of-funnel tactics, you won’t have enough leads to feed the sales team. And if your middle-of-funnel strategies are lacking, the most promising prospects will get lost before they ever make a purchase.

By aligning your marketing efforts across the entire funnel, your company can attract, engage, and retain customers more effectively.

How MNTN Performance TV Can Help

Growth marketing and demand generation serve different purposes—but with MNTN Performance TV, you don’t have to choose. Our platform helps you drive brand awareness, attract high-intent audiences, and turn engagement into measurable performance.

With MNTN, you get:

MNTN Matched: AI-Powered Targeting – Leverage first- and third-party data to reach the right audience at the right time for both awareness and conversions.
Verified Visits™ Attribution – Track exactly how your Connected TV ads drive site visits, engagement, and revenue.
Creative-as-a-Subscription™ (CaaS) – Keep your brand messaging fresh with high-quality, performance-driven TV ads included in your media spend.
Transparent, Real-Time Reporting – Gain full visibility into campaign performance with insights on audience behavior, engagement, and ROI.
Premium CTV Inventory – Run your OTT advertising campaigns across 150+ top streaming networks like ESPN, CNN, and Discovery+, ensuring brand-safe, high-impact placements.

Bridge the gap between growth and demand generation with MNTN Performance TV. Sign up today to start using our self-serve software.

Growth Marketing vs. Demand Generation: Final Thoughts

Instead of thinking about growth marketing and demand generation as one versus the other, it’s important to view them as essential components of a successful marketing strategy. They both serve distinct purposes and employ different tactics to further your brand goals.

By integrating both approaches into a cohesive, full-funnel marketing strategy and leveraging innovative solutions like MNTN Performance TV, your business can achieve remarkable results and thrive in today’s competitive marketplace.