Integrated marketing is an approach you’ve likely heard before. It’s certainly made the ‘buzz word’ rounds across the internet. But what exactly is Integrated Marketing, and how does it work?
In the most basic terms, integrated marketing is the practice of aligning all channels – offline and online – ensuring consistent, integrated brand messaging is deployed to consumers with one central objective.
Integrated marketing and advertising builds trust with consumers because it’s centred on one strong, consistent message. The brand is visually represented in the same way across platforms and allows campaigns to blur lines between the online and offline world.
Most importantly, integrated marketing and advertising drives strong returns on investment (ROI) for businesses because all channels lead consumers to take unified action.
Bubbly consultants develop integrated marketing and advertising strategies for our clients based on their specific requirements. If you’d like us to create a strategy for your business get in touch. We’d love to help. Here’s how our process works in six simple steps.
Step 1: Objectives
First thing’s first: what are you trying to achieve – both in the short and long term? Identifying tangible business objectives (for example, doubling sales in the next 24 months, or increasing profit margins by 5%) allows us to start at the finish line and work backwards, identifying what’s required to meet objectives.
Step 2: Strategy
Once we understand what you want to achieve, we can define a strategy for exactly how you will get there. The strategy will combine online and offline channels, both paid and organic. Individual channels may have their own criteria for success (and measured against distinct KPIs) but they’ll all work together to achieve the same business objectives.
Step 3: Concept
Next we define the creative concept (and message) that will tie the entire campaign together, consistently running across each individual marketing and advertising channel. The best creative concepts typically use human emotion as the mechanic to influence behaviour.
Step 4: Campaign hub
Every successful campaign needs an online hub – the central location to drive all traffic. This is crucial because it provides a destination where customers can digest more information, engage with the brand and importantly: allows end-to-end tracking of campaign effectiveness. Campaign hubs can be an existing brand website tailored to the campaign in question, or a brand-new landing page / microsite.
Step 5: Activity
The campaign strategy defines how to achieve business objectives. Tactical marketing and advertising activity (as part of the strategy) is still required. Online and offline channels have unique benefits ranging from customer acquisition to engagement and retention. It’s important to map out campaign activity based on specific channel tactics.
Step 6: Measure and Optimise
Just because an integrated campaign is launched does not mean the work is done. Constant measurement, analysis and optimisation is required to ensure all channels are performing as well as possible and delivering a return on advertising investment.
Would an integrated marketing and advertising campaign help grow your business? We can help – get in touch for a free consultation.
