The 1990s saw a shift in how products and services were delivered to consumers and, with the internet boom of the mid-90s, campaigns involving both online and offline messaging really took off. Prospects and customers could now be reached in entirely new ways and thus integrated marketing stepped up a level. In the modern world in which we live, people increasingly expect to interact with companies across all platforms. If they go to a business’ website they should be able to connect with them on social media too and this is what really harnesses the power of integrated marketing.
Direct mailing typically now contain details of how to contact your company via phone, email, website and social media, so it’s important that there is consistency across all of those platforms. The online world projects a message further and louder than any previous marketing techniques before it and, utilised correctly, will amplify and complement traditional marketing methods.
Integrated marketing campaigns need to be consistent in that logos, wording, imagery and links are the same throughout the campaign.
There’s an old marketing proverb that says that it takes 7 exposures of your brand before prospects remember you and do something about it. By using intergrated marketing techniques, consumers know without any doubt that the TV advert they saw is the same company as the letter they got through their door and because they saw the Twitter handle on both the advert and the letter, they know exactly who to tweet when they decide to connect with the company.
Businesses of all sizes can harness the power of integrated marketing campaigns with simple techniques that all work in synergy with one another, reinforcing the message over and over and targeting the right audiences via whichever channels they consume. A small start-up company can post a branded letter introducing their business to prospective customers and stockists, then follow this up with a phone call or email inviting them to a launch party.
This is reinforced with tweets and Facebook updates about the event as it draws nearer, Instagram images of the products being developed, all of which can be spoken about, retweeted or shared and the word spreads. And the event followed up with some PR about how fabulously it all went.
For campaigns with much larger budgets we can look at the likes of Compare the Market with their meerkat campaign that has had people talking for years. A TV ad which points not only to the brand’s website but also to the Compare the Meerkat website and associated social media links. It’s clever, it’s very clever. The branding is virtually identical over both websites and people connect, they tweet, they specifically buy their insurance through the company just to get a cute cuddly toy – another string to the marketing bow alongside a strong social media presence and funny TV adverts.
Integrated marketing is about targeting your audience and not letting them forget you. It’s about being present in their lives and being relevant to them. It’s about consistently updating your website, social media, printed media and direct mail to reflect the key strengths of your business and the needs of your consumers.
Being present doesn’t have to mean being pushy, a prospective customer or client will remember a letter followed by a friendly phone call and they will appreciate a tweet telling them about a new product or event. As Aristotle said “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” so…make your parts valuable and your whole, your response rate, will be raised.
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