Integrated. Like Raising A Baby.

On Wednesday, July 21st, I'm moderating a Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association panel on "Integrated Communications" with brilliant guests Eric Erikson, Glenn Karowski, and Paul Ratzky. Integrated is one of those terms that's thrown around a lot in marketing town, and I worry that many who throw it don't really know what it means. Well, we're going to get to the bottom of it, and I hope you'll attend.

Here are some of the topics we'll cover.

Becoming Audience Centric vs. Media-Centric

First, I fear that integrated typically is a catch all for "we're going to jam all the media we're good at into a campaign." That means TV, print, radio spots, direct mail, social media, and some microsites. Sure, that's integrated alright but it misses the point. Integrated communications should not be a reflection of an agency's best talents, rather the desired media channels of the intended audience. How many campaign planning sessions begin with a conversation of what the agency would like to produce vs. what the audience will need, consume and share to produce an intended outcome?

Integration requires a heavy dose of up-front research into the media habits of your audiences. How do you know which media to integrate if you don't know what the audiences desire?

What are various media forms really good at?

Various media serve specific purposes. TV is really good at reach. Email is great for nurturing relationships. And social media is of course great for consumer storytelling, sharing and amplification. Our integrated media plans should reflect the strengths of each media type. Each media recommendation should be attached to a solid performance expectation. For example, don't assume your super awesome YouTube video will go viral. (By the way, it won't.)

What are our team members' roles in an integrated campaign?

Integrated marketing and communications requires a highly integrated team, where analysts and creatives work side-by-side, media planners and optimization specialists are turning the knobs together, and leaders are ensuring that all eyes are on the prize: the program's intended results. I also can't imagine an integrated approach without the client having a seat at the table. With all the moving parts and opportunities to improve and tweak messaging, media buys, and content, some decisions are going to need to be made quickly. There's no "set it and forget it" in an integrated effort. Integrated campaigns are like raising a baby (or a teenager - I have one at home as of today! Happy birthday, Jonas!). If you take your eye off it for a mere moment, the fingers are in a light-socket or the car keys have disappeared from the kitchen table.

I can't wait to hear what the panel luminaries have to share with us on these important topics. Yes, this post is a pure shill for next week's event, but if you are charged with running the necessary complexities of a 21st Century marketing department, I can't recommend this event enough.

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Andrew Eklund :: Founder & CEO
Ciceron :: Digital Marketing
www.ciceron.com
612.230.3901 :: LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/andreweklund
Professional Twitter: @HeavyThinking
Personal Twitter: @aeklund

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Integrated Marketing Communications

Submitted by Rick Graf (not verified) on Tuesday, July 20.

Please know that I love digital communications and the many faces of Web 2.0, but I have to chuckle to myself now and then when I read the commentary on Internet and social media marketing.

A good part of my professional work experience is in traditional marketing and the print world B.C. (before computers). As a newbie in my field I'd frequently hear veterans say, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." It wasn't until years later that I came to appreciate that statement and often found myself repeating it in my head.

Integration in marketing communications, or if you prefer marketing and communications, isn't new. It's been around for as long as I can remember. And yes, it even predates Don E. Schultz, professor emeritus at Northwestern University's Medill School, who wrote a number of books on the subject of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) over 20 years ago.

IMC, The Next Generation: Five Steps For Delivering Value & Measuring Returns Using Marketing Communications by Don Schultz, Heidi Schultz

Integrated Marketing Communications: Putting It Together & Making It Work by Don E. Schultz, Stanley I. Tannenbaum, and Robert F. Lauterborn

Then why do so few succeed at integration?

After seeing more failures than successes, I think Andrew said it best when he said, "Integration requires a heavy [italic mine] dose of up-front research". It's often tedious, bias-busting and time-consuming, but it's the sine qua non.