With so much competition in the marketplace, brands need to do everything they can to stand out to their customers. An integrated marketing campaign is not only effective, but it can boost brand awareness, build loyalty and improve revenue. Think of it like this: You discover a new brand on TikTok that’s promoting their new footwear collection, but when you visit the company’s website there are no shoes anywhere in sight. Confusing right?
Integrated marketing campaigns, which can include print, radio, television ads, email marketing, public relations and social media, among others, help to eliminate any confusion for the customer and align a company’s marketing platforms to promote products or services via a strategic campaign. Integrated marketing also means making sure a company or brand’s main message is being delivered through various marketing channels.
Rather than running campaigns on different marketing channels, it’s typically more impactful to run integrated marketing campaigns since they can reach a wider audience, build trust with customers, and save time and money since campaigns can be shared and repurposed where needed. Here are six steps to building a successful integrated marketing campaign:
1. Establish the goal of your campaign.
Before deciding which marketing channels to be part of an integrated campaign consider the ultimate goal. Maybe you’re trying to promote a new website or storefront. Whatever the goal, having one will set you up for success.
2. Pick your marketing channels.
Once the campaign’s main goal is established, it’s time to select the relevant channels that will be employed. Are radio ads and billboards more effective than digital marketing or events? You can test various channels and adjust accordingly.
3. Identify your audience by channel.
It’s important to know who your brand is talking to on each channel and learn how you can adjust assets or messaging to maximize any campaign. Target specific buyers by defining various personas for different types of buyers.
4. Create adaptable assets.
At this point, it’s time to think about your campaign’s copywriting and graphic design. If your integrated marketing campaign is highlighting a behind-the-scenes video, you could repurpose this content into a “trailer” video, still images, blog posts, hashtags and more.
5. Plan to collect leads.
Even if you’re solely focused on brand awareness and not necessarily collecting new customer leads, you need to be ready to receive them. Are you driving people to download an offer or join your newsletter? Who will help convert these leads into sales?
6. Launch and measure your campaign.
Be sure you’re set up to track your marketing channel’s metrics while your campaign is running to see how you’re reaching your goal. You can take what you learn and adjust or repurpose it for each future integrated marketing campaign.
Whether customers discover your brand on social media, while binging their favorite streaming series or listening to their favorite podcast, integrated marketing campaigns are hugely important when it comes to brand recognition and creating a cohesive and consistent experience.
