subject: Mission Control and Integrated Marketing [print this page] Mission Control and Integrated Marketing Mission Control and Integrated Marketing
The emergence of online marketing as the hot new thing doesn't necessarily mean that traditional methods of marketing (print ads, billboards, commercials, etc.) are falling by the wayside. In fact, many major companies are rolling out integrated campaigns that combine traditional and online marketing in strategic, clever and innovative ways.
The Pepsi-owned sports drink Gatorade, for example, recently added a "Mission Control Center" to its headquarters so that members of the marketing team could observe and react to mentions of the brand on Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets in real time. In one recent application of this "Mission Control" monitoring, Gatorade integrated its online and traditional marketing efforts in order to bring a campaign full circle.
After the company began to run commercials featuring a particular rap song, the team noticed a lot of positive comments about the song in the social media sphere. Gatorade quickly worked to record and distribute a full-length version of the song for its online fans and followers.
By using its online presence to supplement its commercials, Gatorade unified its efforts across mediums, which is a great strategy for ensuring that a brand message stays consistent. Additionally, Gatorade strategically placed the emphasis on its TV commercialswhich makes sense, considering that it is a brand known for advertisements featuring major sports stars. For this brand, the best way to structure an integrated campaign was to use online media to support its television advertising.
Of course, the best method of integration depends on the brand. For Gatorade, the ultimate goal of a marketing campaign is to ensure customers consistently choose their sports drink over the others offered at stores. For other brands this goal might be different and another approach more appropriate.
Though Gatorade's television commercials are the centerpiece of its campaigns, it is not the only brand to use their offline marketing efforts to direct traffic to their websites. It's important for campaigns to be well-organised and implemented for optimal results.
When billboards, print ads, and TV advertisements are meant to direct traffic to a website, search engine marketing and usability become more vital. If users can't find or navigate a website, the money spent on ads directing them online is poorly invested. Since it is often easier to type in a search term than a URL, companies need to ensure that the potential customers that read or hear about their website can find it easily in search engine results.
Additionally, any kind of campaign needs a clear goal. If a company directs traffic towards its website, it's important for it to be clear what visitors are to do once they get thereand for it to be easy for them to do it. Whether they take place on an e-commerce website or in a store's drink aisle, conversions are the ultimate goal of any marketing campaignand clever integration of online and offline elements can help a brand maximise that goal.
