Bridging the Gap: Why Integrated Campaigns are More Successful

Aristotle once said, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” This can be applied to a wide variety of situations, but is especially relevant with an integrated marketing campaign; each discipline may be effective by itself, but when all elements are combined, the campaign is set up for a more seamless and successful execution.

For instance, if your company is announcing a product launch, a press release is an obvious tactic, but by no means should it be isolated.

Have you thought about social media? What about content, or creative?

When disciplines work together cohesively, the campaign is strengthened and positioned to achieve greater success.

But what does this look like? An example of this can be explained through a zombie apocalypse. (No, seriously.)

Disrupting the Traditional Conversation

In October 2016, Idea Grove was challenged by one of our clients to disrupt the traditionally conservative transportation industry conversation by creating a highly innovative, creative and integrated multichannel campaign that broke the social norms. The overall goal was to raise awareness around the importance of the trucking industry and what makes fleet drivers successful.

The campaign was built on one question: What would happen if there were no truck drivers or technology to guide their journey? The answer turned out to be simple: the world could not survive without the trucking industry. If the trucking industry stopped in its tracks, we’d immediately be without the food and health resources we take for granted every day. It was this notion that led to Zombie Dispatch. 

• Creative. We aimed to take a big idea and make it even bigger, which lead to the creation of the web-based video game, Zombie Dispatch. Released just before Halloween, the game took place in the immediate aftermath of a zombie outbreak, with the player navigating a tractor-trailer across the country to deliver a cure and prevent further spread of the plague.
• Public Relations. In addition to the game, we bolstered the campaign with PR efforts. With the intention of opening the door to new relationships and strengthening existing ones, Idea Grove created Zombie Survival Kits to mail to select media and association contacts. Contents (including solar-powered battery chargers, water filters and more) were assembled and the survival kits were mailed. To increase reach of the game, we crafted a press release and customized pitches for the media, resulting in several interviews and dozens of in-depth feature stories.
• Content. In the marketing world, content is king, and this campaign was no exception. Content was infused into every aspect of Zombie Dispatch, from the script of the game to the press release. Additionally, a blog was written and shared on Omnitracs' site and across social media platforms, which led to a boost in qualified traffic to the site.
• Social Media. In addition to sharing the blog on all social channels, targeted social media ads were created using high-resolution creative graphics taken from the game design. The ads were promoted to widen audience reach, and ended up earning over 1 million impressions. We also created social posts for the client’s employees to customize and share with their networks, reinforcing the uniqueness of the game and encouraging game play.

Connecting the Pieces = Revealing the Larger Picture

 Although it’s easy to become siloed, integrated marketing campaigns are stronger, more successful, and paint a more complete picture. All disciplines should come together to reinforce the overarching goal and support the purpose of the campaign. No matter your marketing focus, all campaigns should start out with a brainstorm made up of representatives from all disciplines.

You never know – you might end up with a killer infographic that creatively displays your proof points in a more effective way than a blog would, or a social media strategy that infuses creative elements instead of regurgitating text. And at the end of the day, if you still feel stuck, ask yourself… what would zombies do?