What is integrated marketing and how to apply it in your business

Integrated marketing is a strategy that consists of sending a single, coherent message across all the communication channels your brand uses.

The goal is to create a consistent and memorable experience for potential and current customers , and to reinforce your brand image and values .

Integrated marketing can help you increase awareness, loyalty and sales for your business, as long as you apply it properly and effectively.

In this article, we will explain what integrated marketing is, why it is important, how you can implement it, and some examples of success.

What are the benefits of integrated marketing?

Integrated marketing offers several benefits that can make your marketing strategy more effective and profitable. Some of these benefits include:

• Consistent storytelling : By using the same message and tone across all channels, you create a story that connects with your target audience and reflects your value proposition . This makes your brand more memorable and differentiated from the competition.
• Improved performance : By integrating your marketing actions, you can optimize your resources and maximize the impact of your campaigns . You can leverage the same content and assets across different formats and platforms, and measure the results in a joint and comparative manner.
• Greater engagement : By offering a consistent and personalized experience to your customers, you build trust and satisfaction. This encourages interaction, recommendation and loyalty among your customers, and increases customer lifetime value (CLV).
• Cost savings : By planning and executing your integrated marketing strategy, you can reduce the costs associated with creating and distributing content, as well as sourcing and managing vendors and tools.

Disadvantages of integrated marketing

Some disadvantages are:

• Poor choice of message : if the message you want to convey is not well defined, is not relevant to the target audience, or is not adapted to the different channels, it can generate confusion, rejection or indifference in the recipients. Therefore, it is important to carry out a prior study of the needs, interests and preferences of potential clients, and create a message that is clear, consistent and attractive.
• Complexity in campaign planning and coordination : Integrated marketing requires detailed planning and coordination of the actions to be carried out on each channel, as well as the resources, deadlines and budgets to be used. This requires more effort and investment than a traditional campaign, and can lead to difficulties in synchronizing and optimizing actions.
• Risk of saturation or contradiction : Integrated marketing can lead to the message being repeated too much or contradicting itself on some channels, which can lead to customer fatigue or distrust. It is necessary to regulate the frequency and intensity of the message, and to ensure that it is consistent and complementary across all channels.

How to do integrated marketing step by step?

To implement a successful integrated marketing strategy, you must follow a series of steps that allow you to define, execute and evaluate your actions in an integrated manner. These are the steps we recommend you follow:

1. Define your target audience : The first thing you need to do is identify and segment your target audience , i.e. the people you want to reach with your message. To do this, you can use demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioral criteria, and create buyer personas that represent your ideal customers.
2. Set your goals and KPIs : The second thing you need to do is define what you want to achieve with your integrated marketing strategy, and how you are going to measure its success. To do this, you can use the SMART method, which consists of setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound goals, and assigning them key performance indicators (KPIs) that allow you to evaluate their achievement.
3. Create your message and your visual identity : The third thing you need to do is create the message you want to convey to your target audience, and the visual identity you want to project with your brand. To do this, you need to consider your value proposition, your mission, your vision and your values, and make sure that your message and your visual identity are clear, consistent and attractive.
4. Select your channels and formats : The fourth thing you need to do is choose the channels and formats you are going to use to spread your message and your visual identity. To do this, you need to take into account the preferences, habits and behavior of your target audience, and the resources available. Some examples of channels and formats are: social media , email marketing, blog, website, podcast, video, infographic, ebook, webinar, etc.
5. Execute and coordinate your actions : the fifth thing you need to do is to launch and coordinate your integrated marketing actions. To do this, you need to draw up an action plan detailing the tasks, those responsible, deadlines and budgets for each action, and use tools that allow you to automate, integrate and synchronise your actions across different channels and formats.
6. Analyze and optimize your results : The sixth thing you need to do is analyze and optimize your integrated marketing results. To do this, you need to use analytics tools that allow you to collect, process, and visualize data from your actions, and compare them with the objectives and KPIs you previously established. This way, you can identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your strategy, and make the necessary adjustments to improve your performance.

What examples of integrated marketing exist?

To better illustrate the concept and application of integrated marketing, here are some examples of brands that have used this strategy successfully.

Types of advertising campaigns: What they are and when to apply them

Coca-cola

The famous beverage brand has used integrated marketing to launch its “Share a Coca-Cola” campaign, which consisted of personalising the labels of its bottles with proper names and positive messages. The campaign was disseminated through various channels, such as television, radio, social networks, web, points of sale, etc., and managed to increase sales, recognition and brand engagement.

Apple

The renowned technology brand has used integrated marketing to promote its products such as the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, etc.

The brand uses the same message and the same visual identity across all its channels, such as television, press, social media, web, physical stores, etc., and manages to create a coherent and differentiated experience for its customers.

Nike

The prestigious sports brand has used integrated marketing to promote its “Just Do It” campaign, which consisted of motivating people to play sports and overcome their limits.

The campaign was disseminated through various channels, such as television, cinema, social media, the web, events, etc., and included the participation of famous athletes and anonymous people. The campaign managed to generate a great impact and a strong emotional connection with the public.

How to apply integrated marketing in your business

Integrated marketing is a strategy that can help you improve your communication, your image and your marketing results.

To apply integrated marketing to your business, you must follow a series of steps that allow you to define, execute and evaluate your actions in an integrated and coherent way.

In addition, you must have the right tools to help you implement and monitor your integrated marketing strategy.

Some of these tools are:

• Mailchimp : a marketing platform that allows you to create, send and analyze email marketing campaigns, social networks, landing pages, websites, etc., in an integrated and automated way.
• Marketo Engage : A marketing solution that allows you to manage, personalize and optimize your marketing campaigns across all channels, including email, web, mobile, social media, etc., in an integrated and coordinated way.
• VoxFeed : a marketing platform that allows you to create, manage and measure influencer marketing campaigns, i.e. influencers who have a large audience and credibility on social media, and who can spread your message and your visual identity in an integrated and effective way.

These are just a few of the tools you can use to implement integrated marketing in your business. There are many other options that you can explore and adapt to your needs and goals.

Written by Moises Hamui Abadi : I am an entrepreneur, founding partner of Viceversa and SoyMacho. After leading several digital businesses and advising several other businesses, I decided to form MHA Consulting, a digital marketing consultancy dedicated to growing and empowering digital businesses in more than 7 countries and generating more than 1,500 million pesos.