Integrated marketing is becoming more and more vital if companies want to win market share and keep their foothold in their current markets. Why? Quite simply because of the massive amount of marketing channels we deal with today.

It is no longer as simple as print, tv and radio advertising. Companies now have a plethora of channels in their marketing strategies, the majority of which need their own bespoke content. We can’t use tweets to create an app, and we wouldn’t make a TV ad for a PPC campaign. But, we do need all of these channels to make sure we are reaching our audiences effectively and consistently.

And this is where integrated marketing comes in. With so many channels demanding so many different types of content, you could almost be forgiven for struggling to keep your message the same. Many companies have fallen down at these hurdles, confusing their audience and not getting the message across.

Integrated marketing basically means that all your marketing works towards the same end goal and delivers the same message. This isn’t as reductive as saying use the same tag lines or colour palette on everything, it is a lot more involved and integrated marketing done well takes a lot of preparation and dedication to getting it right.

It is the dedication that trips a lot of people up. A truly integrated marketing campaign is one that will last for a significant period of time, and work across many different platforms.

A good example is the Snickers campaign “you’re not you when you’re hungry”. The TV ad feature Joan Collins and the premise (that people get irritated when they’re hungry) could be translated across online and offline marketing mediums. Similarly Foster’s campaign featuring two comedic Australians spoke to the brand’s philosophy and roots. It captured the nature of the brand so well that it translated across many platforms including sponsorship of C4 programs and its own online comedy series.

When done well integrated marketing is incredibly successful and will yield good results. Taking the time to understand your brand, the message you want to convey and who you want to convey it to are all critical elements in starting to build the foundation of an integrated marketing campaign.