Creativity is key to integration
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Paul Snudden hits the nail on the head in your Joint Account feature (MW March 8) when he talks about the first step of integration being “to generate one core creative concept, rather than decide where it will appear”.
Too often in the past, campaigns have been hailed as “integrated” when in fact they have been little more than a “coordinated” set of creative solutions in response to the requirements of the strategy.
For campaigns to be integrated, the creative process itself must be integrated, ie it must determine the correct communication routes and the vehicles for achieving marketing objectives.
When clients have huge budgets, the distinction between integrated and coordinated campaigns is perhaps not so evident because the size of the spend ensures a high level of visibility anyway.
But for the majority of marketers, the challenge is to get maximum value out of more limited resources.
Only when integrated solutions evolve from a central creative concept can marketers be sure of generating momentum and achieving effectiveness of expenditure.
Paul Barrett
Managing director
The Idea Works
Bath
