Why marketing campaigns – rather than piecemeal marketing – are so important.
If you talk to anyone running a small advertising agency, they will tell you that times have changed. Specifically, the type of work. Clients are seeking agencies for more project work and less for integrated campaign work.
This is due, in part, to the fact that clients who are making marketing decisions serve as a sort of general contractor. So they hire a vendor for web, another for digital marketing, another for broadcast production work, another for photography, another for graphic design, and so on. In this role (as a general contractor), they bear the responsibility of buying media as well – working with representatives from television, radio, and magazine organizations, for example. This person also works with print shops, promotional agencies and vendors for signage, apparel, trade show materials and, well, you get the point. They are busy.
We know this because we have conversations with clients and potential clients every day about this very topic. And we always have this advice to share: create a campaign. If you are coordinating the creation, development, and distribution of marketing materials, creating a campaign ensures that the effort is cohesive and consistent.
It may sound simple, but you would be surprised at the dollars that are wasted by spreading budgets too thin, targeting an audience that is too broad or trying to say too much, in too many different ways. Or relying on one medium to do it all.
Your money will be well spent if your message is the same across all mediums. In other words, your awareness tactics like – TV commercials, radio commercials, and digital videos – should all look, sound, and feel the same. Your consideration tactics – like search and website – should feel familiar because customers saw the commercials. Purchase environments – like stores or e-commerce – should deliver on the promise you’re making in marketing and loyalty tactics – like email campaigns and social media – which should keep customers engaged.
Marketing should all work together. So if you are hiring different vendors to handle different aspects of your marketing mix, go into it with a campaign plan. That way, all of your vendors will be on the same page, working together, and you will be in the market with a consistent message.
Think of the saying, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” It’s especially true with marketing campaigns. Each tactic leverages the other making the message more sturdy, powerful and effective. Meaning your time and money are better spent when you approach marketing with a campaign mindset.