Go All the Way
You may recall a few “integrated” or “multichannel” marketing campaigns that received industry accolades for message consistency across channels, clever use of online technology or smart segmentation. But if you really think about it, even these efforts focus mostly on one channel or a single component of a multifaceted program. Especially those launched on television.
When Cold Stone Creamery began its self-described “first integrated advertising campaign” last year, the “Love It Love It” TV commercials developed by Saatchi & Saatchi took creative lead. Online and radio spots carried the same theme, as did a microsite created by TargetScope of Plano, TX.
The site (www.loveit-loveit.com) enables visitors to view the commercials, look at filming outtakes and character profiles and vote for their favorite. But while you may remember the spots, you might forget completely about the microsite — because the commercials didn’t promote it. (I found the URL in a press release from Cold Stone.)
So what’s the problem? If you’re the ad agency that developed the spots, there isn’t a problem. But if you’re the online agency, direct marketing or public relations firm that had to “take the ad concept and run with it,” you probably can see where I’m going.
Sure, there’s a common theme strung through all the media components. And a consistent message and brand identity. But the various agencies probably aren’t working from the same strategic plan, or collaborating to identify and rank key segments, pinpointing relevant offers and calls to action, or even scheming measurement metrics.
For argument’s sake, let’s say you’re interested in building a truly integrated multichannel marketing campaign. What steps would you take to do it right?
- Strategic planning
A fact-based market analysis is the foundation from which the business and marketing planning processes are built. Management teams making decisions using common and consistent information that cuts through political and hierarchical boundaries and focuses on winning specific markets have a successful track record. A key factor in planning is allocating resources where they’ll do the most good. Knowing where the company is spending money and how it aligns with the market’s potential is a basic strategic planning activity.
- Profile and segment
So much of marketing success is based on the overall quality of the customer data that the campaign draws on. Strategic planning provides the fact-based market analysis, but the next step is to do a better job of targeting customers, defining new markets and managing risk in how you’re reaching your audiences. Taking it a step further, software assists in the creation of predictive models that can help DMers make educated projections about future behavior.
- Collaborate
Based on your fact-based research, audience profile and segmenting results, what channels make the most sense? If you’ve got a mix of traditional advertising, direct mail and online marketing, for example, it makes sense to work with your expert partners in each channel. Your sessions should go much deeper than discussing creative direction, key messages, and sharing copy and design assets. Focus on determining which channels will perform best and define expectations and resources for each. All parties should understand their roles in the big picture and your expectations for them. Someone has to take a leadership role to ensure this collaboration takes place.
- Establish measurement metrics
Know what you’re going to measure first. Many campaigns roll out without an offer or call to action. DMers understand how to make a compelling offer but often fall short when attempting to make it easy for people to respond. Once you believe you’ve established how your customers and prospects will react to a campaign, the next step is to map out how you’ll track and measure success in each channel. From there, necessary adjustments can be made channel by channel to maximize results.
GRANT A. JOHNSON ([email protected]) is CEO of Johnson Direct LLC, Brookfield, WI.
