There is no shortage of approaches to marketing and with the continued importance of the internet, companies are finding new ways all the time to market to their customers. Integrated marketing is about bringing all the approaches together in a holistic way and can have benefits for businesses of all sizes. So, if you are considering working with an integrated marketing agency in London or around the country, what approach will they take?
Integrated marketing definition
Integrated marketing is an approach that focuses strongly on offering a consistent and seamless, multi-dimensional brand experience for customers. It means that there is a unity across all marketing from television and radio to print and in person as well as all aspects of online marketing such as social media and SEO. Everything presents the brand’s image and values in a cohesive way.
Apple is a good example of this kind of approach. Their sleek and modern products are sold without gimmicks – packaging is crisp and white with virtually no text. Their stores are bright and minimal with products available for intuitive use. Adverts on TV are simple and classy but also memorable. They have positioned themselves as elite, futuristic and concentrating on the important stuff – and this allows them to be market leaders and charge premium prices for their services.
Why it works
While the idea of integrated marketing may appeal to marketers and to business owners, does it have appeal to customers?
According to figures from The Brand Storytelling Report in 2015, 55% of customers were more likely to buy from a company if they loved the brand’s story. And 66% wanted to hear stories about regular people rather than just corporate mission statements. Yet 85% of those spoken to couldn’t give an example of a memorable story told by a brand.
Integrated marketing can build a brand story by ensuring all marketing contains the same elements and can then appeal to people in this way. Think about why McDonald’s is as successful as it is – is it because they have stores everywhere? Yes, but it is also because you know the brand, you understand its story and what it wants to achieve and you relate to it.
How it works
Of course, integrated marketing isn’t something limited to big, multi-national companies making billions a year. Any company of any size can work with marketing experts to create an integrated approach for their efforts.
An effective integrated marketing campaign will:
- Centre around the brand image which should be strong and focused
- Offer a clear and consistent voice in all marketing
- Have a look and feel that is used across all marketing
- Makes use of both traditional and digital media as part of efforts
IKEA is a good example of how this can be done. The company wanted shoppers to do more than buy some nice pillows and kitchen accessories so they started a campaign across TV, print ads and their online presence that showed how their products could help customers create their dream rooms. The result was a 9% increase in living room furniture sales and 12% for their kitchens.
Planning and development
One key to planning and developing an integrated strategy is not simply just to copy everything from one format to another and call it integrated. It takes research and development to consider how best to approach each area of marketing while keeping a consistent, overarching theme.
Areas such as the focus of the brand, corporate culture and brand identity can help marketers decide how best to reach potential customers. Then they can look at messaging, design, customer service and product experience to see what to highlight and how to do it. It can even take seasonal changes into account – Macy’s is a store associated strongly with Christmas and they use this in their seasonal marketing in a variety of ways.
