Marketers Push Toward Integrated Marketing Campaigns
Many marketers prep campaigns to go out across all channels, but they aren't always satisfied with the end results.
While a majority of marketers rely on integrated marketing campaigns, many are disappointed in the end result. That’s according to the findings of a survey on the state of integrated marketing communications conducted the by Association of National Advertisers (ANA) in conjunction with Blueprint Communications.
Integrated marketing is the form of communications of choice for 67 percent of marketers. Of these, 33 percent say they’re happy with the results, leaving about half who feel their campaigns didn’t achieve expected results in every channel.
Confidence in advertising as a whole has slipped in the three years since the survey was first conducted. Thirty percent say advertising adds the most value to a company’s marketing communications programs. In 2003, 51 percent answered the same way. In the same time, display Internet advertising grew from 3 percent in 2003 to 10 percent in 2006.
“Online is playing an increasingly valuable role in marketing communications, a lot of that is due to measurability,” said Bill Duggan, EVP of the ANA.
The siloed structure of most organizations is considered the largest obstacle by 63 percent of marketers. Barriers include “functional silos” and other organizational issues.
Silos can be an issue both in-house and at agencies. The ability for an agency to develop the “Big” creative idea across all marketing channels is considered by 72 percent of survey respondents to be their most important contribution. Nearly half of respondents want “media neutral” agencies to develop integrated marketing campaigns.
Marketers look to measurement tools reporting sales data and ROI analysis to measure the effectiveness of an integrated marketing campaign.
For the purposes of the survey, integrated marketing communications was defined as a strategic business process used to created measurable brand communications programs across multiple channels with one consistent message.
The findings are part of a survey of 85 major advertisers was conducted in May and June of this year. The first integrated marketing communications study was conducted in 2003.
