Integrated planning has been dominating the marketing conversation for many years now but the jury is still out on whether we are truly integrated or not. Ensuring that multiple communication channels are added to planning is a good starting point; yet we cannot claim it to be integrated. For campaigns to be truly integrated, it is important to add data points to advertising metrics such as brand sentiments (including review, social and search), as well as purchase data, along with conversion attribution hypotheses like reach and engagement across channels.
SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) have enabled us to consume massive amounts of information, interact with others and make purchases online. On the other hand, the introduction of new-generation technologies has enabled marketers to measure and link these data points to digital advertising – which has become ready to lead the integrated planning. Clients too have realised the benefits and are investing in multiple tools that measure social sentiment, consumers’ interaction data and footfall attribution, along with customer relationship management solutions.
The shortcoming is that currently these tools work independently and/or run on legacy systems that cannot be integrated with advertising, marketing tools or new point-of-sale solutions. We are observing higher rewards for clients that have been able to integrate their marketing activities with a few data sources like CRM or social data. However, in order to maximise results, there is a need to invest in a smart, centralised analysis platform that can integrate all the marketing and sales data points with robust analytics capabilities to ensure this integration delivers higher return on investment. This centralised database will collate data from major data sources like social, mobile, search and site, along with sales and operations data. In addition, this system needs to be scalable to integrate additional data points like location and wearable data (health, fitness and diagnostics data) and should have the capacity to integrate with new social channels that would potentially engage the future customer.
When integrated with programmatic buying solutions, this platform enables us to deliver real-time personalised content across digital screens. With programmatic buying eventually extending to TV, out-of home and radio, accurate and conversion-based targeting would become possible across all screens in real time. Sounds perfect, but the success of such integration depends on three key factors: committed long-term integration strategy, clearly defined goals and skilled people.
Committed long-term integration strategy
This integrated ecosystem can only be achieved with the commitment of both clients and partner agencies to develop technology solutions that can be integrated with ongoing marketing efforts. For example, when working with a new publisher, it is important to determine if their inventory can be integrated to programmatic solutions. Another example is how to improve Facebook leads from campaigns and integrate them with CRM data solutions like Salesforce to generate better quality leads. Many times agencies and clients think short-term, but there have been recent examples of linking programmatic buying platforms and social ads to performance. Initial results did not impress and questions were raised about shifting budgets to these channels. New advertising solutions need at least a 90-days always-on presence to evaluate performance. The reason being that optimisation is key to improving any new ad solution, building patterns and establishing benchmarks of success. In addition we need to review the impact of these solutions on existing communication channels. Continuous optimisations, investment in dynamic, agnostic tools to build benchmarks, and always-on presence enable us to deliver amazing conversions and higher interaction rates. In fact, in many cases we are able to measure the exponential impact of these solutions on existing TV, OOH and search campaign results.
Clearly defined goals
Many times briefs are very vague, with multiple goals and no clear objectives. This leads to fragmented communication and the data points collected through earlier activities could be obsolete. Therefore, setting up long-term goals is critical and all the investment and planning should be directed to deliver these key performance indicators.
Skilled people
The best technologies and data are useless if we do not have people who can implement these technologies efficiently and understand the data that is being generated at different data points. The planning and marketing teams need to be trained to review, understand and create rich patterns of conversions where different touchpoints may deliver a direct or indirect response. For example, a targeted reach campaign on social could deliver low engagement but high calls volume at the call centres, therefore higher ROI. In addition, offline media may play an impactful role in delivering ROI through digital. Many campaigns using smart and impactful outdoor have led to improved search ROI and higher conversion with lower bids. Radio activations have also contributed to the enhancement of social campaigns with higher engagements. It is critical that both agency and client teams spend time training and understanding new technology and how it can affect their ongoing channel mix. Along with the planning team, clients’ extended teams, consisting of operations and sales, should take part in the training on this integrated roadmap to ensure proper awareness and understanding of approach. After all, the customers may engage with any of these teams and expect an integrated experience with the brand.
Seema Shenoy, Digital media director of Magna Global
