I’m over the Old Spice Guy. Sure, he was a brilliant integrated campaign, but it’s time to move on, right? Then again, as far as integrated campaigns go, it’s the benchmark. But if you’re trying to replicate Old Spice’s success, it’s not about viral videos. It’s about being both strategic and integrated.
TV, online and social media need to offer a consistent branding message that ties your marketing efforts together. For Old Spice, the playful tone, the messaging, and the level of engagement gives consumers a cohesive experience across channels. When I go to the Old Spice website I see what I expected to see based on the TV commercials, or the Facebook page, or a video on YouTube—not some flat corporate site that’s disconnected from the campaign.
Most of the time, a 360-degree campaign starts with strategic insight. That insight creates a launch pad for a creative concept. It also allows us to infuse the concept across all platforms, but recently companies we’ve worked with have wanted to skip the strategy and have us simply “build a website” or “create a Facebook page.” The great news is that they trust us, and that kind of freedom can be exciting. But without an understanding of the overall brand strategy, we’re going to fail. Sure, the site might look amazing. It might even win awards. But it won’t be effective without integration of the overall marketing campaign. If the messages conflict and the channels operate independently, there is no way that users will have a positive brand experience. And isn’t the goal to evoke a response?
I still remember the day all of this hit home. I was working on a campaign for Sony Electronics, and one morning I sat down at a bagel shop, opened up a newspaper and saw an ad for a Sony BRAVIA. Peyton Manning was asking the question, “Aren’t all HDTVs the same?” Later, I headed into the office and it wasn’t long before a banner ad opened up with a picture of Peyton and the BRAVIA, prompting the same question. As I drove home, I heard a radio ad with Peyton’s voice. Again, same question. That night my husband and I were watching ESPN and when the commercials rolled, who do you think we saw? You got it! Peyton and the BRAVIA. It was an incredible example of strategic integration.
In a Direct Marketing Association survey, 27.4% of U.S. Marketer respondents claimed that they were doing an effective job of messaging across channels, but only 10.4% responded that they were effectively integrating digital assets. The buzzwords are out there and everybody is talking about them, but there’s a gap that exists between knowledge and action.
I love what Linda Gangeri, Manager of National Advertising, for Volvo cars had to say. “(It’s about) remaining relevant and straightforward. It’s not so much the channel, but it’s the message within the channel.”
At Volvo they are trying to learn about emerging spaces and are focusing on new mediums that may not be as familiar, including mobile, social, gaming and virtual goods. They also launched a new Volvo social media team to tap into the psyche of Gen X.
Big brands are catching on to integrated marketing, and savvy marketers will find the right way to ensure a consistent and relevant brand message. My hope is that this blog post will stop just one brand manager from thinking that he needs a Facebook page just because everybody else has one. We want to make sure it compliments the message that you’re sending through all of your marketing channels.
