TheBusiness Dictonairyprovides a pretty good summary definition of Integrated Marketing as“Strategy aimed at unifying different marketing methods such as mass marketing, one-to-one marketing, and direct marketing. Its objective is to complement and reinforce the market impact of each method, and to employ the market data generated by these efforts in product development, pricing, distribution, customer service, etc”
Although fairly comprehensive in scope, that definition lacks one key component of Integrated Marketing that really brings home the ROI. Not only should it employ the market data generated by efforts for the benefit of sales, pricing, etc – the data should funnel back into the overall campaign elements to better inform targeting efforts overall – creating a continuous cycle of campaign improvement and a very long run-on sentence.
Integrated Marketing is about better leveraging your Marketing budget investment for improved results across the communication channels and beyond. It’s a single message broadcast in many channels – online and offline – in the social, sales, marketing and PR spaces. It requires customizing that message to suit the medium – and it requires intelligent design to incorporate measurement throughout. It’s often complicated – and it’s always worth the effort.
Truly outstanding marketing is difficult to come by. Marketers too often focus on achieving one goal or objective, such as awareness or trial, that they completely miss their target. The emergence of online, social media, and mobile channels have further complicated the process as brands struggle to figure out these channels. Heineken, and their “Made to Entertain” campaign, recently solved this mystery.
Heineken organized an event centered on the AC Milan-Real Madrid soccer match to launch its Champions League sponsorship that successfully tied in every channel you could imagine, and generated tons of “buzz.” Heineken’s event is a prime example of targeting, understanding the consumer, and finding a creative way to reach them.
After soliciting the help of hundreds of friends, girlfriends, bosses, and some media outlets, Heineken successfully planned a classical music event during the exact time the game was on. Over 1100 Italian soccer fans had their “sacred moment” taken away, and were forced to sit through about fifteen minutes of a string quartet’s performance. Then Heineken came to the rescue.
The transition from classical music to world class soccer was nothing short of hilarious, and even the most skeptical consumers could appreciate it. However, the most important aspect of this event is the buzz. While the target segment was reached and Heineken’s brand equity improved for this smaller segment, the fallout via the internet, news stations, YouTube, and blogs like this is the real gold mine. Heineken has achieved millions of dollars in coverage as a result of their creativity, and has set a new standard for creative marketing in my mind.
What are other examples of great marketing you have seen recently? What do you think of Heineken’s event?
The Business Dictonairy provides a pretty good summary definition of Integrated Marketing as “Strategy aimed at unifying different marketing methods such as mass marketing, one-to-one marketing, and direct marketing. Its objective is to complement and reinforce the market impact of each method, and to employ the market data generated by these efforts in product development, pricing, distribution, customer service, etc”
