Sometimes the world moves so quickly we barely have a chance to play catch up to the latest trends and fads - Web 2.0? That's old news. All the rage now is Web 3.0 haven't you heard or rather seen!
In our world of marketing, branding or advertising and every other nook and cranny of communications the word “integration” is also sparking an “evolution”. The two now go hand and in hand in how brands communicate the message to their target – no longer does one channel do all the heavy lifting, instead it’s a collaboration of channels that must work seamlessly together to deliver the message, the brand, the idea – the buzz on the marketing street from, besides the excitement of the Spice Girl’s comeback, is all about integration and heck even the Spice Girls are jumping on the band wagon - from their product site, tour site and offline promotions, these gals now how to integrate the Spice brand in all channels.
If it's one thing I’ve heard my clients discuss more then their nasty boss or a bad week at the office, it is the need to integrate – the brand, the message, the strategy. But what does integration actually mean in today’s world of connecting with our audience and how does one do it right without getting lost in sea of clutter and stay on brand and on strategy? It’s not an easy answer because each case presents set of challenges that are unique to the brand and to the ultimate communications objective, but there are some ground rules one should always keep top of mind.
Rule #1 – Brand consistency is key, but so is brand flexibility
No matter how big or small an organization is, whether you are a Fortune 500 goliath or a local favorite you likely have an established set of brand guidelines that steer your branding and from it your messaging, values and marketing platform. While consistency is key to all the stakeholders that manage and control the brand it’s important to allow for flexibility. What I mean by this is that while certain elements of a logo for example, such as colour and font should not change, there may be instances during points of integration, from TV, direct marketing and interactive where your logo may need to, for example, have some flexibility due certain elements of the space you are communicating. A prime example is that in print and TV file size limitations aren’t an issue for the most part – in the digital space you might be required for example to only feature your logo, minus your tag line for certain online advertising executions; don’t fret, it will look far better then to have a grainy pea size image of your logo, which in essence would make your brand less relevant in the space and devalue your brand equity with your audience. At the end of the day your branding needs to continue to build value, relevance, innovation and hold true to your brands core purpose.
Rule #2 – Keep it simple
It’s funny, the more we tell or demand peoples actions the less they are likely to listen. Well folks, the same is true in communications. People don’t like clutter, it’s perceived as unorganized, untrustworthy and scattered. A successfully integrated communications strategy, whether the focus is branding or selling, has always paid off when by keeping it simple. By simple I don’t mean skimping on the wow factor of on online experience or marginalizing the mass channels, but rather being clear and clutter free. It’s essential that no matter where the consumer touch point occurs, whether it be a direct marketing mailer or an online banner, the message needs to be simple, catchy and to the point. Consumers need to connect with you quickly and the less time they need to spend figuring out what the heck is going on , the more likely they are to engage with the message, your brand and follow-through in either exploring further or turning their attention into dollars.
Rule #3 – Work works for the print, works for print.
I cringe and curse when I hear people say “Let’s just pick up that TV spot and plunk it online or well that worked for print lets use in the banner”. Bad, very bad, a very big no no in today’s world of digital media. Simple put, a TV spot is a TV spot and an online experience is well, an online experience. Sure, we see plenty of rich media in the digital space, and while these creative executions maybe be picking up the idea from their TV sibling, the online experience must be more immersive, driven by the user and have an element of customization. But, and there is a big but, mass does serve a a greater purpose in terms of integration, hence the next rule.
Rule #4 – Let mass drive your online
There is a two-edged sword, while you should never believe that what works for print will work online, the mass channel can be your best friend in prolonging the engagement your consumer has with your brand. Smart integration aims to build an emotional connection and to entice the consumer to continue their connection long after they’ve watch the TV spot or read through the mailer over dinner. Think about it, you want your consumer engaged with your brand for as long as possible, but they need some motivation, thus your mass channels, from TV, print and direct can all serve this purpose – by giving the consumer a definite reason to explore your brand in the online space you’ll have the opportunity to keep the mass channels clutter free and focused on the key points with a simple message, while the online space will further leverage those channels and message allowing the consumer to further became educated, informed and locked in to your brand with their heart and wallet.
Rule #5 – The Web Site IS The New 30 second spot
It’s hard for some to let go of the notion that in a few years the traditional 30 second spot will either no longer be all that relevant or will merge into the online experience, perhaps it will even evolve into a user driven customized experience. The truth is today consumers are using the online channel to engage with brands more then ever before. It is where they spend the most amount of team learning, evaluating and judging a brand – in turn either becoming loyal champions or one-time opportunists. So it comes as no surprise that the online experience is a crucial piece to any integrated campaign, yes even more so then the 30 sec spot. Think of TV as starting point and online as the finish line, with everything else driving to it. As marketing dollars shift to the online, the trend is simple to understand. It relates to the consumer being in control of their time and controlling what they choose to see or not, the online experience gives consumers the power to explore as they wish. TV spots have been viewed as being forced up upon a us where as an online experience is only on experience when it’s chosen to be – but when it is , it better deliver on the promise of being engaging, relevant and useful to it’s purpose, whether to educate, to sell. Today’s consumer time is scares – any touch point is crucial, but the online space brings with it your brands the most vital consumer touch point prior to a consumer to becoming financial invested in the product or cause, thus they need to be given a good starting point from the first introduction to the time the arrive and stay a while.
So while these 5 rules aren’t the the only way to way to a golden ticket in brand and campaign integration between the various channels, they do serve to remind us of a few key elements needed to steer your brand in the right direction to ensure continual delivery of the brand promise, value and purpose.
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