Do You Know Why Campaigns Are So Important?

Maybe you’re new to marketing, maybe you’re a veteran in the industry… Either way, do you know why campaigns are so important?

Because they make companies memorable.

Before we dive into how to create a campaign that sticks, let’s take a minute to talk about what a marketing campaign even is. Simply put, a campaign is a well-thought out strategy that’s organized around a specific goal, such as brand awareness, promoting a sale, or launching a new product. Good campaigns have a consistent theme, multiple customer touchpoints, and are measurable. But if you want a great campaign, follow these guidelines:

Look to your best channels

Where do you already have the most engagement? It might sound obvious, but if your customers frequent your social media channels but hardly ever open your emails, build your campaign around Instagram or Facebook—not e-blasts. When it comes to defining your “best” channels, also think of where you can pay for advertisements that will reach your desired demographic. The goal here is to create a campaign that will consistently reach customers and have multiple touchpoints.

Nail the multiple touchpoints

Speaking of multiple touchpoints… While your campaign should be centered around your best channels, you should be promoting on a variety of channels. Where else can you reach customers to supplement your overall campaign? Seeing just one part of a campaign isn’t memorable to consumers because there’s so much out there… But what if they see an Instagram post and then later pass by a billboard for the same campaign? Consistent touchpoints like that are what makes your campaign stick. 

When considering the various ways to promote your campaign, plan to have a combo of paid, earned and owned content. For example, you should be placing ads, sending out PR pitches, and writing blog posts to have a well-rounded campaign that’s guaranteed to reach your customers over and over again.

Think outside of the box

What channels have you not thought of yet? Great campaigns go beyond the obvious channels to engage with customers in a unique and especially memorable way. Have you thought about influencer marketing? Is there an event your company could sponsor? Could you pay for product placement in a video? Pay for an entire music video à la Target and ‘The Middle’?? Ok, so that last one might be a stretch, but the point here is to get creative. Don’t be afraid to try something that reaches customers beyond your normal channels. 

Play to your strengths (and your weaknesses)

Campaigns are the perfect opportunity to play up the areas where your business already excels. If you have a funny and playful brand voice, use it! Create a campaign that’s themed around engaging with customers in a humorous way. But have you thought about playing up your weaknesses? Sometimes creating a campaign that pokes fun at yourself surprises and delights your customers. Need an example? Check out this billboard by Jaja Tequila…

This clever campaign left consumers questioning whether it was a joke or real but it got people talking.

Know your timeline

Moving beyond how you’ll reach customers, let’s look at the more logistical aspects of your campaign. What’s your timeline? Are you wanting to slowly build brand awareness or heavily push a certain product? Knowing your timeline informs you of which channels to go after. If you’re playing the long game, you have more opportunity to engage PR or start dropping hints at an upcoming campaign. But if you’re working with a shorter timeline, you’ll need to be more strategic about which channels will get you results fast. Bottomline, know your timeline and execute accordingly.

Be smart with your data

After you wrap up your campaign, the smartest thing you can do is use your results to inform your future campaigns. Which channels had the best metrics? Which channels received little-to-no engagement? Where did  you have your best ROI? Use all of this data to better shape your campaigns to continuously leave a lasting impression.

Ready to make your company memorable? Let’s talk!