This post has information about ad campaigns; why they work, what elements can relate separate executions, and a few easy ways to make sure your campaign is tied together. I don’t know if you’ll love it or not; but I’m posting it anyway.

The Campaign

Campaigns usually consist of one major message promoted in all media for a set period of time. The message might be about new initiatives, changes, promotions or special events. In order for consumers to get that message, they need to hear it or see it a few times so they remember the brand as well as the promotion. This awareness is important to any company because the user knowledge of the brand will strengthen future campaigns as well.

Campaigns work well if:

  1. The same message is communicated across media
  2. There are enough media channels for the target market to be exposed a few times
  3. They are well-executed taking the target market’s communication preferences into account

They tend to get annoying and flop if:

  1. The copy is repeated, over and over, word for word
  2. There aren’t enough media channels to be effective; there’s no result
  3. The message is poorly constructed and it means nothing to the target audience

An integrated campaign

Has anyone seen the latest Starbucks signage about their merchandise? It’s simple, direct, full of detail and well-designed. I wish I had a photo to show you, but soon I’m sure you’ll be able to see for yourself in your local Starbucks retail store.

It’s a little card, placed neatly on a stand in front of or next to the merchandise it’s referring to. There is a header at the top stating the product that reads “Why you’ll love this mug.” What follows are not bullet points (gasp!), but a concise, meaningful paragraph describing the benefits of the product. This small piece is more effective because it’s supported by store signs and colors.

This execution is selling the benefits of the product. That usually works well, but it works better when it’s part of a larger campaign that creates a need for that information.

Creating a need

To get people involved with advertising, you need to create some curiosity. Showing an abstracted version of your product with a strange or mystery copy line can get the audience hooked into your act. Only tell half the story and the listener will want to know the other half. This is essentially creating a need for information related to your brand in the mind of the consumer. In the Starbucks example, I saw the mugs on the display table. I would have just written them off as another new product until I saw the sign. Then I saw that it was on the other stuff too. That made me curious about what all the little signs said. They caused me to interact because of their size – I had to get closer to read them.

Not being repetitive

So you want to communicate the same message in all media, that’s true because you want it to get across. If you just repeat it, word-for-word, chances are your customers won’t relate to it. You must convince them about how the message relates to them, to their situation. If the message is about “our department store is having a sale on Saturday,” don’t just say that over and over again. Show how it will help the customer to attend the sale: saving money, having fun, looking great at the party, buying the right cookware for dinner guests etc. The sale on Saturday isn’t really concrete. The consumer picturing herself serving guests from the bowl she got on sale will come to the shopper more naturally.

How do you know if you’re being too repetitive or if you’re not getting the message across well enough? Ask. Get a small group of people from your target group and ask them to view the campaign. Ask them about overarching ideas they saw or images they felt were effective for them. Ask if this would make them want to go to the sale. Ask what it would take to get them to go to the sale. Then take their suggestions.