Why More Channels Can Hurt Marketing Performance

By Filip Ivankovic

Director, New Rebellion

Filip has led enterprise marketing functions, managed a $40M budget and delivered 30% growth on a $200M base. An ex-CMO with experience across agency, client and vendor roles he understands where marketing delivers and where it gets stuck.


New Rebellion was built to create something sharper. A model that connects strategy to delivery, fast.

“We should be on TikTok.”

“Let’s add podcasts.”

“Everyone’s using Pinterest now.”

It sounds like growth. But often, it’s just noise.

Because more channels do not always mean more performance.

Sometimes more just means diluted.


The Hidden Cost of Channel Creep


Every new channel comes with a cost. Not just spend, but attention. Time. Creative adaptation. Platform-specific knowledge!


When budgets are thin and teams are stretched, adding more platforms spreads everything thinner.


That means:


  • Content gets repurposed rather than crafted
  • Budgets get split too small to optimise
  • Learnings become harder to trust
  • Customers see inconsistency instead of clarity


And instead of focus, you get fragmentation.

Focus Beats Volume


It is better to do three things well than seven things badly.

The strongest marketing systems are not the busiest. They are the clearest.

When you concentrate spend, time and effort, you get:


  • Stronger creative built for context
  • Cleaner data and faster learning
  • Better ROI on media
  • More consistent customer experience
  • Sharper alignment across teams


Every part of the system works better when it has space to breathe.

Build a Smarter Mix


You don’t need to be everywhere. You need to be effective where it counts.

That starts with making deliberate choices.


Here is how to do it:


  • Anchor your mix to business goals, not trends
  • Use data to guide investment decisions
  • Cut channels that are not contributing real outcomes
  • Double down on the few that are driving momentum
  • Add new ones only when you have the capacity to support them

Channels are multipliers, not magic.


Without clarity, they amplify waste just as easily as they amplify impact.

The Bottom Line

Being everywhere is not a strategy.

Being effective is.


The strongest brands win by focusing on what works and making it work harder.


More channels might look impressive.

But better results always come from smarter choices.

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