Marketers often think that integrated marketing requires a six-figure budget and a team of experts.
But that’s a myth.
In reality, understanding your target audience and their preferences is the key.
With new channels emerging, integrated marketing is becoming increasingly popular among marketers. It combines channels to deliver a unified brand message to target audiences.
This blog post explores the components of a successful integrated marketing campaign. It also offers examples to provide inspiration and guidance.
Table of Contents
What is an integrated marketing campaign?
Types of integrated marketing campaigns
Importance of integrated marketing communications
Integrated marketing campaign examples
5 steps to build an integrated marketing campaign
What is an integrated marketing campaign?
An integrated campaign combines different channels to promote a brand, product, or message. These campaigns incorporate digital and offline components and paid, earned, and owned media.
Integrated marketing distinguishes itself from multichannel marketing. Multichannel marketing uses several channels, but they may not work together seamlessly. Conversely, omnichannel marketing connects these channels to provide a cohesive customer experience.
That said, integrated promotional marketing should not be mistaken for spamming. It shouldn’t make a customer want to mute your advertising.
You can execute an integrated campaign via various types of content. You’ll find some of them in the graphic below:
Types of integrated marketing campaigns
Marketers have various options when it comes to using integrated marketing communication campaigns to reach their target audiences:
- Advertising: Integrated marketing in advertising unifies channels to create a cohesive brand message. It combines various methods like print, TV, digital ads, and social media.
- Sales promotions: Integrated promotional marketing involves coordinating messaging, timing, and tactics across different channels. It can include in-store promotions, digital promotions, direct mail, social media, and more.
- Direct marketing: Addressing your target audience directly via email, phone call, SMS, or brochure remains a timeless approach. It allows you to deliver precise, tailored messages to specific individuals or segments.
- Public relations: Public relations involves engaging and communicating with the public. You can do this through digital media relations, crisis communications, and issues management. In doing this, organizations can enhance their public image and reputation.
- Social media: You can effectively nurture a community of existing and potential customers through social media marketing. Platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer opportunities to reach a wide audience.
Importance of integrated marketing communications
What are the benefits of an integrated marketing campaign over other types of campaigns? Here are a few:
- Consistent branding: By implementing an integrated communication campaign, you can maintain a consistent brand message across different channels and touchpoints. Uniformity across style guides, logos, voice, and headers, for instance, will enhance brand image.
- Better reach: A customer that sees your TV commercial might never hear your radio ads. Using multiple channels will increase your chances of reaching a diverse audience. You don’t need to be on every channel, but just where your customers are going to be.
- Improved results: Integrated marketing unifies teams to create an effective marketing machine. Press releases, blog posts, articles, and advertising reinforce a harmonious message that boosts customer confidence.
- Optimized resource allocation: Strategically coordinate marketing efforts to optimize resource allocation. Utilize content from different channels and repurpose it creatively for maximum impact.
- Brand trust: When customers consistently encounter the same message at every interaction, they perceive the brand as trustworthy. Moreover, you can personalize your strategies for different channels using customer data and insights.
Integrated marketing campaigns recognize that consumers prefer engaging with brands across multiple channels. They will help you deliver the right message to the right people at the right time. Anything short of that does not count as integrated marketing.
Try Omnisend to execute a truly omnichannel marketing strategy from a centralized platform.
Integrated marketing campaign examples
In this section, we’ll be looking at some of the best examples of integrated marketing campaigns. We’ve handpicked a mix of both B2B and B2C businesses:
- Starbucks: Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Amundsen Sports: Vagabond pants
- Nike: Just Do It
- Accenture: Let There Be Change
- Apple: Shot on iPhone
Starbucks: Pumpkin Spice Latte
First on our list of integrated marketing examples is Starbucks. Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) has been around since 2003. Over the years, Starbucks has turned it into a cultural phenomenon.
It has done so by using a dedicated PSL Twitter profile and Instagram page, branded hashtags, and impactful social media campaigns. Starbucks has successfully built a loyal fan base for the title of ‘Fall’s Official Beverage.’
The company also does an excellent job of engaging its offline audience. Autumn-themed in-store experiences, themed cups, signage, and merchandise add to the excitement surrounding this spice latte.
- Advertising
- Television commercials
- Print ads (Food Network, Parents and People)
- Mobile ads (Instagram and Facebook)
- Sales promotions
- Happy hour promos
- Cross-promotions with other brands
- Direct marketing
- Email blasts
- MMS campaigns
- Social media
- Contests and giveaways
- Dedicated PSL Facebook messenger chatbot
Amundsen Sports: Vagabond pants promotion
Amundsen Sports wanted to increase sales of its renowned Vagabond pants. Adopting an omnichannel marketing approach led to its success.
The outdoor clothing company conveyed its unique vibe and style across multiple channels. It features visuals of adventurers wearing Vagabond pants, along with descriptive captions. On the whole, the message is that Amundsen Sports makes the outdoors a comfortable place to be.
Using Omnisend, Amundsen Sports sends automated promotional emails and customized order confirmations. It is also syncing the U.S. customer segment into Facebook, thereby providing retargeted advertising.
- Advertising
- Mobile Ads (Google and Facebook)
- Direct marketing
- Order confirmation emails
- Promotional emails
- Email blasts to select customers
- Social media
- Facebook and Instagram campaigns
- YouTube videos
Want to learn how Amundsen Sports’ achieved an increase in revenue per email by 1010% using Omnisend? Here is the complete case study.
Nike: Just Do It
First on our list of B2B integrated marketing campaign examples is Nike.
About 40 years ago, Nike was a small company in a slump. In an attempt to appeal to a much larger audience, the ‘Just Do It’ campaign was born.
Through seamless integration across multiple channels, Nike established a unified brand image. These included TV, print, social media, as well as sponsorships.
The iconic Nike Swoosh logo is featured throughout all campaign materials. This is extremely effective for reinforcing brand recognition. The campaign has helped Nike to solidify its position as a leader in sports apparel and footwear.
- Advertising
- TV commercials
- Print ads (lifestyle magazines and newspapers)
- Mobile ads (Google, YouTube, and Instagram)
- Sales promotions
- Special offers on birthdays
- Early access to new arrivals for members
- Discount codes
- Direct marketing
- Follow-up emails as a response to signups, delivery, and reviews
- Promotional emails featuring high-profile athletes
- Social media
- Posts featuring new launches and inspiring captions
- Facebook Messenger Augmented Reality (AR) experiences
Accenture: Let There Be Change
Next on our list is another example of B2B integrated marketing.
In 2020, Accenture’s ‘Let There Be Change’ campaign unveiled its new brand positioning. The idea was to showcase its expertise in driving transformative change. It did so through thought-provoking content and diverse marketing channels.
The company even undertook a massive website update to maintain consistency across channels. The campaign allowed Accenture to communicate its brand values, capabilities, and commitment to clients and society as a whole.
- Advertising
- Outdoor ads (billboards and transit stations)
- Print ads (industry-specific magazines)
- Direct marketing
- Personalized and targeted email communications
- Social media
- YouTube videos and films
- LinkedIn and Instagram posts
Apple: Shot on iPhone
Last on our list of integrated campaign examples is Apple’s Shot on iPhone campaign. The key to its success is the use of user-generated content.
The goal of the campaign was to highlight the iPhone’s exceptional camera capabilities. Apple encourages users to share the best photos and videos taken with their iPhones. Social media users do so using the hashtag #ShotOniPhone.
The chosen user-generated content is prominently featured across several marketing channels. In doing so, Apple can connect with its audience on a personal level. Moreover, this goes a long way in building authenticity around its product.
- Advertising
- Print ads (The New Yorker, lifestyle magazines)
- Outdoor ads (billboards and transit ads)
- TV commercials (various television networks)
- Mobile ads (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook)
- Social media
- User-generated content campaigns across platforms
Five steps to build an integrated marketing campaign
Integrated marketing campaigns are a great way to expand reach, build trust, and improve your bottom line. But what are the steps to build one? Let’s take a look.
1. Determine the main goal
Start by identifying your campaign goals. This can involve increasing brand awareness, driving sales, or launching a new product. This step will shape the entirety of your campaign, so make sure you get it right. You can use the SMART framework to set realistic and relevant objectives.
Say you want to grow your customer base. Here’s how you can use the SMART approach to further break down your goal:
- Specific: Utilize social media marketing to win new customers
- Measurable: Aim to generate 30 new leads
- Achievable: Broaden reach through an omnichannel marketing campaign
- Relevant: Previous campaign yielded 20 new leads in a month
- Time-bound: Ideation begins next week, launch by month-end
2. Research your target audience
To execute a successful integrated marketing campaign, you need to know exactly to who you’re catering. Avoid making assumptions and use these tips to learn more about your target audience:
- Check what social media platforms they use
- Learn about their pain points
- Find out what their hobbies are
- Check if they have any motivation to buy a product like yours
- Discover whether they prefer informative content or entertaining
3. Choose marketing channels
Conducting thorough audience research will give you valuable insights into the preferred marketing channels of your target customers.
But here are some other factors you can consider:
- Your goals: What do you want to achieve with your marketing? If community building is a priority, you should focus on utilizing social media platforms.
- Your competition: Research your top competitors and identify the marketing channels they use. This will help you determine effective channels for your business. It will also enable you to compete with your competition.
- Your budget: Take into account your budget when selecting marketing channels. For instance, YouTube or paid advertising can be pretty costly. Conversely, starting a blog or email marketing is quite economical.
4. Create campaign content
Develop content tailored to each channel while maintaining a consistent brand message. This can include blog posts, social media posts, videos, infographics, and more. Ensure that your content is valuable, relevant, and compelling to your target audience.
It is also a good idea to experiment with different types of content. But no matter what you create, always keep your brand’s vibe, colors, and voice in mind. A good way to maintain consistency is to create a written style guide. In other words, define your brand voice on paper.
5. Launch and analyze performance
Reporting and analytics play a significant role in shaping the best integrated marketing campaigns.
This will help you optimize your marketing strategies and allocate resources more effectively. Moreover, marketing automation ensures that your efforts are aligned with your goals and objectives to deliver the best ROI.
The metrics you should track will depend on the goals you’re working towards. However, there are some marketing KPIs that matter to most businesses:
- Social media engagement
- Email campaign CTRs
- Website traffic
- Search rankings
- Customer acquisition cost
Summary
In conclusion, an integrated marketing campaign is a powerful strategy for businesses. It will enable you to effectively reach your target consumers, no matter where they are. This approach plays a crucial role in optimizing the omnichannel customer journey.
Moreover, harmonizing messaging across various channels will help you can establish brand awareness and product recognition among the target audience.
An integrated communication campaign needs more meticulous planning, resources, budget, and management. But it offers substantial value and significantly higher returns on investment. The best part, you can implement it no matter what your budget is.
Source from Omnisend
Disclaimer: The information set forth above is provided by Omnisend independently of Alibaba.com. Alibaba.com makes no representation and warranties as to the quality and reliability of the seller and products.
