A fun look at Hispanic marketing from an Integrated, multi-channel approach:
It's Here. A Fully Integrated Retail Experience
Check out the not too far away future of shopping. Creepy or cool?
From emarketer. October 8, 2012.
Content marketing serves a variety of purposes, from building brand awareness to engendering loyalty and helping push potential customers down the purchase funnel. And August research from content marketing platform Outbrain (http://www.outbrain.com) and Econsultancy (http://econsultancy.com) indicates that a solid minority of marketers, along with 13% of agencies, worldwide are already defining content marketing strategies.
Even more plan to do so in the future. Among in-house marketers, 55% said they were planning a content marketing strategy, as did 58% of agencies. That left just 8% of marketers and 29% of agencies without any content marketing strategy plans in the coming years.
The most effective type of content marketing is email newsletters, cited by half of in-house marketer respondents. Social media posts followed close behind.
In-house marketers were most likely to plan to increase their use of Twitter and Facebook, at 90% and 81%, respectively, to distribute content, making the social platforms the most popular channels for sharing and promotion. And more than six in 10 marketers said they already used those channels.
Though budgets still remain fairly small, content marketing appears to be here to stay: an overwhelming number of brand marketers agreed that it was “key to creating an emotional connection with customers,” and three-quarters believed that brands are simply now becoming publishers.
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Mobile Payment Revolution
Technlogoy is not only transforming marketing but the market itself. Great video from Sapient Nitro.
Hispanic Car Buyers and their smart phones
Authenticity is everything, says RPA social media chief
A lot of brands wouldn’t complain about having 200,000 “likes” within the first year of their Facebook pages’ existence.
But Yoplait started there, then added 800,000 likes within its second year on Facebook -- celebrating its one-millionth fan last month.
How? Largely by moving away from an impersonal, push-marketing approach to a more “authentic,” discussion-driven approach in which racking up “likes” is actually far less of a focus than engagement metrics, according to Teresa Coryell House, digital strategist for the brand.
Initially, Yoplait’s Facebook page was “very much approached as another way to promote current campaigns,” Coryell House tells Marketing Daily. “We were mostly talking at our fans, about product attributes and launches, rather than having consumer-driven discussions with them. Our new strategic goal -- which is much harder -- was to drive organic growth by becoming more relevant and authentically engaging.”
Yoplait’s once-heavy use of paid media to build Facebook traffic/likes has become “minuscule” (nearly none since May) as a result of the viral and engagement benefits of the new strategy launched a year ago, she reports.
Last August, Yoplait became the first General Mills brand to have a dedicated social engagement manager: Sara Fryar, known to Facebook fans as “Yoplait Sara.”
This enabled a core strategic shift from reliance on agency-generated content and links to third-party content, to more “human, relatable” postings and content from Fryar. Fryar says her instructions from Yoplait were to be a brand champion by being brand fans’ “girlfriend” -- that is, finding creative ways to “share the kinds of things I would share with my friends.”
Fryar also serves as the unifying voice or personality for a brand that has numerous lines and products within three main divisions (adult, kids/new ventures and Greek), each with their own brand managers and messaging needs.
Fryar’s postings frequently draw on aspects of her own life in Minnesota (including photos of her kids’ latest adventures/accomplishments), usually (although not always) weaving in Yoplait references.
Examples: “I’m the only person awake so far … it doesn’t get much better than this. I get all the goodies to myself,” posted with photo of coffee cup, newspaper and Yoplait container … her promise to share “the good the bad and the ugly” as she tries to get in shape for a Yoplait-sponsored So Good Team that will do a 10-mile Twin Cities run (“When is running going to get easier?”) … and her updates on her latest planting project: nurturing seedling plants in Yoplait containers.
Recipes featured on the page sometimes come from General Mills’ Betty Crocker Kitchens, but frequently from Fryar herself. Mentions of new products, product improvements (like removing high fructose corn syrup) and sweeps/promotions are put in human, “you asked for it, so we’re delivering it” context.
Fryar says the litmus test for all of her postings is whether “it’s something genuinely useful and interesting” to the brand’s Facebook community – the keys to maintaining and virally building the fan base.
To that end, Coryell House and Fryar say they parse the Facebook “virality” and “talking about” numbers for every post. When those are not up to par, they confer and may decide to tweak the approach for a message, to see if its timing, rather than content, may have been the cause. And if that doesn’t work, they move onto potentially more resonant, engaging topics.
In addition to relationship management, “customer service” – monitoring fans’ input to help the brand respond to their needs – is a major part of the social engagement manager’s job. This also yields potential inspirations for new brand marketing approaches.
For instance, the insight that yogurt lovers are very “texture-specific” led to a posting that listed all of the Yoplait varieties that are totally smooth (no chunks of fruit or other ingredients), for smooth-texture lovers’ easy reference. That, in turn, is the type of insight that may be used in future campaigns, says Coryell House.
Another example: Finding a favorite Yoplait flavor has been a top query on the brand’s Facebook page. While the brand’s site, Yoplait.com, has a link to a General Mills product locator that allows specification by brand and flavor, the frequency of this query has inspired the company to develop a more user-friendly by-flavor locator for Yoplait fans.
Restructured Tabs, Flexible Content Management
Along with establishing a dedicated community manager, Yoplait restructured its Facebook page.
The tabs, which used to be product-themed, are now themed to topics, including:
*“Feeling Good”: Featuring Yoplait-supplied recipes, an “inspiration gallery” where fans can swap recipes and cooking tips, and currently, profiles of the So Good running team.
* “Looking Good”: Featuring fan-submitted tips for “getting red-carpet-ready,” plus tips from style bloggers.
* Photos: Including photos submitted by fans, plus a “You Talk, We Listen” section using graphics and short descriptions to spotlight new/improved Yoplait products.
* “It is So Good”: This tab, which uses the brand’s motto, is devoted to encouraging visitors to Yoplait’s Facebook page to “like” the brand.
The structure change has been “huge” in driving engagement and sharing, because the topics synch with “what our consumers really care about,” says Coryell House.
Also supporting the strategy: Investment in a Facebook management system (Buddy Media) is enabling flexible formatting and easy posting of content, as well as fast revisions, according to Coryell House and Fryar.
Yoplait celebrated the 1-million-likes milestone -- which it says is the largest Facebook fan base for any yogurt brand, including frozen varieties -- by posting an animated thank-you video (“An Ode to Our Facebook Fans”), featuring its own original theme song.
Multichannel Campaigns Increase Reach, Branding Potential
Marketers who make the most of consumer media habits stand to benefit
Changes in US media consumption habits have brands reevaluating their multichannel marketing programs. Marketers continue to combine channels with the purpose of achieving maximum reach, but as multiple digital devices become staples of US daily life, traditional media such as TV, print and radio are no longer the only channels offering marketers mass exposure. “The proliferation of digital devices and channels provides marketers more ways to reach an audience,” said Lauren Fisher, eMarketer writer/analyst and author of the new report, “Multichannel Marketing: Making the Most of Multiple Screens.” “But as media multitasking has become a common way for people to cram more media minutes into the day, multichannel marketers are finding reach alone is no longer as effective. To compete for consumers’ time and divided attention, brands must also find ways to better resonate with their audiences.” July 2011 data from Yahoo! and advertising agency Razorfish revealed that while watching TV, 66% of US mobile device owners multitasked on their laptop or desktop PC on a daily basis. In addition, 49% used their web-enabled mobile phone daily when watching TV.
Meanwhile, marketers who look to extend the consumer viewing experience across screens benefit from greater incremental reach and exposure. For example, Nielsen found half of US consumers exposed to a TV ad featuring a sports sedan recalled viewing the advertisement. But when consumers were exposed to the ad across multiple screens (their TV, computer, mobile phone and tablet), that percentage jumped to 74%, providing a 48% lift in ad recall.
“Building a successful multichannel marketing campaign requires the right mix of channels that offer brands the ability to reach and engage consumers,” said Fisher. “In the US, media penetration and consumer media habits offer insight into which digital channels should be combined with other mass media to drive distinct branding and direct-response objectives.” The full report, “Multichannel Marketing: Making the Most of Multiple Screens,” also answers these key questions:
Marketers Are On Board with Virtual Goods
From eMarketer.
Consumers around the world want branded virtual items
The popularity of social gaming has catalyzed tremendous growth in virtual goods monetization. Game developers, virtual worlds and social network providers are driving this economy, which is projected to grow substantially in the next several years. “Most of the growth in virtual goods revenue has come from the surging popularity of Facebook games,” said Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, “Virtual Goods and Currency: Real Dollars Add Up.” “More than half of Facebook’s users have played a social game, and their virtual goods expenditures drive an economy worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the US alone.” US revenues from virtual goods in social games will grow by 21.3% to $792 million in 2012, from $653 million in 2011. This growth follows a 28% increase in 2011 over the previous year. eMarketer’s estimates are based on PC-based social games and do not include console or mobile games.
Virtual worlds, social networks, massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) and social games have thrived within a connected-PC environment. However, mobile is gaining ground as consumers use smartphones and tablets for social and casual gaming. A mobile gaming study by analytics firm Flurry estimated that, in February 2010, average revenue per user (ARPU) for virtual goods surpassed advertising ARPU. Further, virtual goods ARPU continued on an upward trajectory through September 2010, quadrupling that of advertising dollars that month.
“Gamers have a robust appetite for virtual goods, especially for branded items,” said Verna. “Savvy marketers have grasped this phenomenon and inserted their brands into a variety of games in creative ways. The potential for continued branded virtual goods integration is limited only by the imagination of marketers and game makers.”
©2011 eMarketer Inc. All rights reserved. www.emarketer.com
When an Ad Impression Really Isn't an Impression
How the Over-counting of False Impressions Is Killing Online Advertising
Why Brands Need a Digital Customer Experience Strategy To Stay Competitive
Once upon a time, companies differentiated themselves almost entirely based on the things they made. Early in the 20th Century, the ability to produce items quickly and efficiently was a key differentiator for corporations that brought affordable products to the masses. Over time, production processes became so cost-effective that firms looked to streamlining distribution and opening new markets to gain an advantage. But there, too, they reached an efficiency plateau.
At the end of the 20th Century, the Internet opened up content distribution, but lately there has been a shift in focus. Companies still need to build innovative products and get them to market, but as the differences in many of those products become more subtle, companies need a new way to differentiate. In this new era, companies expect experience to be that new differentiator.
The Role of Connected Devices
Driving this shift is the proliferation of connected devices. These gadgets put serious computing power in the hands of consumers and enable them to have deeper, more enriching relationships with companies. Today’s mobile phones have nearly as much computing power as turn of the century desktops, while marrying the virtual and physical worlds. But it’s not just mobile phones that have had an impact. Touch-screen tablet computers fill a key void by enabling easier input and more multi-touch manipulation than mobile handsets, while providing more portability and a better tactile experience than notebook computers.
This suite of empowering devices has driven customer expectations to new heights, and has increased the frequency of interactions between customers and businesses. It also opens a world of opportunity for companies to enrich their relationships with their customers. The problem is that companies struggle with what experiences to provide on what devices — and which ones to build first. Because companies have typically been organized by channel, they tend to develop siloed strategies for each new touchpoint available to them. This approach to channel development can confuse customers with disjointed experiences. It also doesn’t provide an overarching framework for prioritizing which channels to invest in, leaving companies vulnerable to chasing shiny new objects.
Instead of focusing on channel-specific experiences, companies need to pay attention to the realities of today’s multi-channel customer who may use multiple touchpoints in pursuit of a single goal, and expects all touchpoints to be in sync in visual design, behavior and content. Firms need an overarching digital customer experience strategy.
Where to Begin
A digital customer experience strategy helps guide the activities and resource allocation needed to give customers a great experience across all points of digital interaction. It needs to address the identity and behaviors of target customers, where experiences will take place, and brand image across all touchpoints. How can companies get there?
Start with company and brand strategy. Firms need to ground their digital efforts firmly in the mission and value proposition of the brand. A digital customer experience strategy should translate top-level business objectives into an actionable plan for every digital channel.
Describe the intended digital experience. A strategy paints a vivid picture of how the company’s digital interaction points meet customers’ needs, make the company easy to work with, and provide an enjoyable experience. It should call out the aspects of customer experience that are most critical to a company’s aspirations for differentiating itself.
Direct activities and processes that support the defined experience. Companies set themselves apart by performing a different set of activities than their competitors or by performing the same activities differently. When customer experience professionals have a clear vision of what they need to do and how, they’re better equipped to make decisions about which projects to pursue.
Guide digital channel investments. Firms with a clear strategy prioritize investments in interactions that fulfill the brand promise and avoid wasting money on chasing new shiny digital capabilities if they don’t. With a clear strategy in place, firms can make informed decisions about the projects that have the most impact on their businesses instead of chasing features that might work for another company with a different strategy.
A few years ago, having a digital customer experience strategy meant having a website strategy. But in today’s reality, successfully delivering a cohesive experience that meets and exceeds expectations requires a more thoughtful approach that considers the entire customer journey. If you think customer experience is important, and digital channels are core to delivering those experiences, isn’t it time to make it a strategic priority?
Ron Rogowski is Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, serving Customer Experience professionals. His research on digital customer experience strategies will be presented at Forrester’s Customer Experience Forum, June 21 to 22 in New York.
Why Augmented Reality Is Poised To Change Marketing
Mashable!
If you’ve read Daniel Suarez’s techno thriller Daemon or William Gibson’s Spook Country, then you’ve encountered a world where there is no dividing line between physical and virtual realities. This vision is also advanced in the films Blade Runner, Minority Report or Children of Men which feature floating screens and active surfaces that come alive at a gesture or command. While this may seem like fantasy, those in business and marketing need to start paying attention to how real this all becoming.
The fields of augmented reality, projection mapping and Kinect hacking are where some of the most exciting work is happening. The changes are occurring so rapidly and in such variety that it is hard to keep up. But what many startups, hackers, corporations and tech artists are creating — a hybrid between computer interactivity, data, social media and how those relate to our physical world — is not only mind-blowing, but it is also a teaser for what media and communication experiences will look like in the near future.
Here is a taste of what’s going on.
Augmented Reality
Remember when AR was all about little black-and-white codes that made pretty little animations play on your webcam? It seemed like a fun trick back then, and a few brands (Lego, best of all, and maybe Ray-Ban for an honorable mention) used it to create new ways to digest their products or play simple games.
Actually, there was very little ‘reality’ being augmented with those. But now that the concept has matured, we’re starting to see a very different AR come to life. With your phone’s camera becoming the input device, apps are popping up that let you view a building in your city and find out if there is available office space for rent in it, make newspapers, magazines and outdoor imagery come to life, get translation on the fly or see a person’s social profile as they pass you on the street.
As our desire to check in and share location-related media grows, we’re going to see the ability to overlay those actions on real space through these tools and new ones coming.
Where to start:
Rofo on junaio: AR Real Estate application for cities (above)
Aurasma from Autonomy: Activating still visuals
Lego Retail AR: See how the product will look when built
TAT Augmented ID: Social profiling via AR
Projection Mapping
Projection mapping has been around for a few years now, but it is starting to come into its own with some high profile stunts. Projection mapping software looks at the shape of an object and creates a 3D map of it, allowing an artist to overlay imagery — usually on a large surface or structure.
Why is this interesting? Because it provides the ability to change the experience of a physical object creatively, so at one point the object was one thing, and then right in front of your eyes it appears to be another. Ralph Lauren made a recent splash with this tech at a high profile event, projecting a 3D spectacle on the facades of flagship stores in New York and London.
Infiniti and Toyota have used the technique effectively to make their cars defy the laws of nature at private events. Others have used it to augment architecture and living spaces in such dramatic ways that you would have to touch them to see if the change was real or simply a visual trick. If all the structures around us were a canvas, imagine what we could do with them.
Where to start:
Ralph Lauren: “4D Experience”
Mr. Beam: “Living Room”
Infiniti: “Journey of Inspiration”
Toyota Auris: “Get Your Energy Back”
Kinect Hacking
On November 4, 2010, Microsoft took a major step toward reasserting itself as a leader in future tech. The release of the Kinect for its Xbox system, — and how the Kinect was adopted by the creative/hacker community — has ushered in a new era for augmented reality.
Why is the Kinect so innovative? It’s not really breaking new ground, technology-wise. But it’s the way in which it combines existing tech — a multi-array microphone, an RGB camera, an infrared depth sensor — that makes it smarter and cheaper than preceding attempts. Perhaps more importantly, it’s hackable. And recognizing the innovation that could come of this, Microsoft is due to release an SDK that will allow the curious and the research-minded alike to tinker with ease.
In just a few short months, developers have used the Kinect to create everything from optical camouflage to body-controlled light shows. Beyond the novelty, the practical implications of tying gestures to computer control are abundant.
Here are a few impressive examples of Kinect hacks in action:
Phil Reyneri: Kinect Light/Laser Control
blabblabLab: Be Your Own Souvenir
Controlling A Humanoid Robot via Kinect
Coverflow
Become Your Own Superhero
These technologies (and a variety of others) are radically changing the way the physical and digital worlds interface. Because media and marketing are moving ever closer to the technologies that feature (and often reward) user engagement and user creation, these innovative types of input/output mechanisms will directly lead us into a new era of active and reactive brand communication and experience.
Sam Travis Ewen is the CEO and founder of Interference Incorporated, a non-traditional marketing agency, and is co-founder of Supertou.ch an immersive technology company focused on bringing human computer interaction (HCI) to real-world environments.
New IAB Research Findings from IAB Digital Video Conference
We hear it constantly from all sides, "Consumers are spending more time than ever online, and digital advertising is the wave of the future." We hear this, and yet, it still seems like businesses face obstacles in bringing their promotion online.
With research backing the consumer patterns of time spent online, the question we're left with is not whether advertisers will move dollars from TV to online, but how quickly?
On April 4, 2011 I debuted findings of IAB research entitled "An Inside Look at Demand-Side Perceptions of Digital Video Advertising." The study was conducted by Advertiser Perceptions and explored the gating factors to digital advertising at the IAB Digital Video conference. To find the obstacles, researchers gathered 500 agency and marketer decision-makers representing a variety of verticals and asked them about their perceptions. The full results can be viewed here, but here's a snapshot of the findings:
Types of Digital Video Advertising Used Past 12 Months - Overall, the only type of DVA used by a majority of media purchasing professionals (57%) during the past 12 months is Pre-Roll, however the gap between agency respondents (66%) and marketers (36%) is vast. In-banner has been used by more than four in ten (46%), overall, while expandable banner with video (34%) and rich media overlay (34%) have each been used by just over a third of respondents.
Types of Digital Video Advertising Will Use in Next 12 Months - The landscape over the next 12 months will not look all that different from the past 12 months; the only type of DVA that respondents will reportedly be used by the majority of media purchasing professionals (58%) is Pre-Roll. The gap between agency respondents (64%) and marketers (42%) is still wide, but narrowing. In-banner (48%), expandable banner with video (40%), and rich media overlay (35%) will all be more widely used, while mobile video (35%) will see some serious growth.
The majority of respondents planned to increase digital advertising spend (on average, by about 22%) - Respondents noted increased reach, ROI, and higher engagement levels as their rationale.
The majority are likely to migrate a portion of their TV Ads budget to digital video - Overall, respondents noted track-ability, targeting, and efficient spend with less production costs as their rationale. Marketers skewed towards ROI as the reason for the shift, while agencies will shift TV ad dollars to online in an attempt to follow their target audience.
The DVA format of choice was a :15 pre-roll on a CPM basis - When forced to select a single favorite or preferred DVA type, not surprisingly, pre-roll, the most used as well as the most planned to use, is the most preferred (30%) holding a two-to-one advantage across the board with all respondent groups over the number two type, expandable banner with video (14%).
Overall, the research supports optimism for DVA in the industry, and highlighted where progress may be slowing. Agencies and marketers believe that digital video may have better ROI and engagement but both alike want more measurability and better metrics. We're demanding more from our campaigns, and the future is bright for digital advertising.
Suzie Reider is the Advertising Director of Display at YouTube and Co-Chair of the IAB Digital Video Committee.
LinkedIn to Launch Job Application Tool
GIGAOM
LinkedIn is preparing to launch a plug-in for employers’ websites called “Apply With LinkedIn” that will allow job candidates to apply for available positions using their LinkedIn profiles as resumes. The feature indicates LinkedIn’s increasing focus on making money by facilitating employee recruitment and hiring.
LinkedIn is currently in talks with a number of companies that will incorporate the “Apply With LinkedIn” plug-in on their jobs pages for the feature’s launch, which is slated for later this month, according to a source briefed on the feature.
“Apply With LinkedIn” is being touted by the company as a way to remove friction from the job application process by enabling people to use their LinkedIn profiles as resumes. The plug-in also bundles applicants’ data to simplify the sorting process on the employer side.
From the job-seeker’s side, the “Apply With LinkedIn” feature appears as a button placed alongside a job description on a company’s jobs webpage. When a user clicks on the “Apply With LinkedIn” button, a pop-up lightbox appears over the page with a prompt to sign into LinkedIn. The user is then given the option to edit parts of his or her LinkedIn profile and contact information and may be asked to answer additional questions. The user finalizes the application by clicking a “Submit Application” button. Finally, the lightbox displays an application confirmation, and displays either additional job openings at that company or a list of the user’s LinkedIn contacts who are affiliated with the company to which he or she has just applied.
On the employer side, companies can add as many as five additional check-box questions from a template, such as whether a candidate is willing to relocate, is eligible to work in the United States, or would like to add a cover letter. Employers can also add several customized questions. Employers can have the job submissions sent to an email address, a URL, or a JavaScript callback.
With LinkedIn’s blockbuster IPO now in the past, the pressure is on for the company to deliver solid growth on a quarterly basis and assure its stockholders that the money they’ve invested is well spent. According to LinkedIn’s IPO filings, the company currently gets 43 percent of its revenue from hiring solutions such as its job board, 33 percent of its revenue from marketing solutions such as display ads and company pages, and 25 percent of its revenue from selling premium subscriptions with extra profile features. By more firmly ingratiating itself with the job application process, LinkedIn could boost its subscriptions as well as its hiring solutions income. Job recruitment is a lucrative but decentralized industry, so it makes sense that LinkedIn is working to become a more deeply ingrained player on both the employer and applicant sides of the space.
A Word From Personifeye
It is critical for integrated agencies to have thorough knowledge of all strategic communications vehicles. Personifeye focuses strategy and execution, (integrated marketing and technology solutions) for four major marketing communications areas.
Relationship Marketing
Engagement strategies and multichannel media vehicles are used to drive conversion and engagement across the customer lifecycle. Multichannel campaigns and programs need integration to maximize customer insight, campaign optimization and ROI. We build solutions that span web, mobile, and social channels integrated with Customer Relationship Management (CRM), unified multichannel analytics and marketing automation.
Social Brand Strategies
Solutions that deliver communications in content formats that harmonize with social environments and enhance the customer experience, rather than embarrass the brand. While traditional advertising was meant to interrupt, social ecosystems have a community context. Social Brand solutions enhance the community experience and embrace the community social mores.
Traffic, Activation and Social Promotion
Digital vehicles enable promotional precision. Well-crafted integrated promotions target customers at the point of activation online, at the point of sale or at live events. Personifeye offers digital solutions that incorporate vehicles that span web, mobile, social and POS channels including location, mobile traffic drivers, e-coupon, viral marketing, loyalty and rewards. Personifeye specializes in monetizing social environments.
Lead Generation and Nurture Marketing
Complex sales require sophisticated marketing strategies and an optimized mix of nurture content marketing and communication vehicles. Personifeye partners with leading solution providers to deliver optimized programs on management platforms that integrate lead management and scoring, CRM, analytics and automation.
Integrated Marketing Challanges
When watching rowing crews gliding down a river, it is clear that the frontrunners in the competition are always the strongest, most synchronized teams. Promotional competitions in the marketplace are much the same: The frontrunners tend to have an integrated media mix supporting a strong message.
Integrated brand communications once referred only to print advertising, collateral materials, direct mail, press releases, and more recently, television campaigns. With the advent of digital technologies, however, it now includes digital on-line and off-line programs. The concept of integrated marketing communications seems simple, but barriers often challenge this common-sense approach.
Against the Current
The challenge in integrated brand communications is that it goes against the prevailing current of promotional plans development, according to a recent article on the American Marketing Association website.
Advertising agencies creating promotional plans are often restricted by media bias. They only recommend what their agency does in-house. If they have no E-marketing staff (which they often do not have), clients are forced to go to another vendor for their digital programs. This discourages the integration of traditional and digital media.
Additionally, client budgets are often itemized by type of media, which assigns separate financial allocations to advertising agencies, digital vendors, or direct mail vendors. This compartmentalizes media in the client's mind and in its execution. Yet traditional and digital media are beginning to overlap, blurring the line between them (Table). As a result, many vendors are shifting from offering one specialized medium to synchronizing complementary media that provide a significantly more powerful message.
Synchronized Marketing Strokes
How can a vendor keep all the oars rowing in the same direction to provide a truly integrated marketing program?
The American Express "My Life, My Card" campaign used various media formats to drive its theme. Television shared life stories, print detailed those stories in short-form personal profiles, and on-line sites extended each tale into an experience with which the customer could interact.
One marketing firm worked with a pharmaceutical brand manager to combine traditional print and digital media. The core of the program was a series of four E-details. The challenge was to drive maximum traffic to those on-line sessions. That mission was accomplished with a matching series of dimensional direct mail, and time-coordinated Email invitations. The client only dealt with a single company. Existing brand identity and themes were used in all print and digital components. The clear and consistent message contributed to an increase in sales for the brand. The budget for the two media was the same, but when combined into one program, it represented a more intelligent use of resources.
These types of integrated marketing offer a strong, fully synchronized brand message. Marketing vendors who provide integrated solutions to brand challenges will offer the most powerful programs for growing brands. They are helping brand managers synchronize for success.
Rob Likoff
CEO
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