Integrated campaigns are better campaigns

To incorrectly recall the theme tune of 70s and 80s kids TV staple Record Breakers: integration, inte-gration, integration is all you need, if you want to be a, err, successful direct marketer.

Exhibit A. Run-away winner at the 2010 Direct Marketing Association awards, a rugby themed 02 campaign that utilised several channels. Described by chair of judges Rory Sutherland as one that “incorporates the principles of direct marketing, while also incorporating elements from other disciplines.”

The winning campaign was not a showy, integration-for-integration sake campaign to keep up with the digital Jones’; it generated 100,000 new consumers registering with O2’s Priority experiences website.

Exhibit B. A Deloitte study that found multi-channel customers – those that use more than one channel (store, online, catalogue or contact centre) prior to making a purchase spend over 80% more per transaction than store-only shoppers.

The study demonstrates that happy customers are customers that are provided options to engage with brands. Multi-channel customers, targeted by multi-channel means are more lucrative.

It also highlights the role that physical mail can play when bound up with the other marketing channels. A catalogue, tactile and familiar, coupled with a website etc presses home a brand’s message.

In my last weekly missive, I called on the Direct Marketing Association to view digital as an opportunity to be embraced. The success of the O2 campaign and Deloitte’s findings demonstrate that all should take note.

There should not be a rush to embrace the new at the expense of basic marketing common sense. Integration should be more than a buzz word to demonstrate to the board that you understand the online world. Great positioning, defined targets and measurable outcomes should first be drawn before deciding upon the best means to reach the customer.

If you think your direct marketing campaign demonstrates innovative integration, then make sure you enter Marketing Week’s very-own best of the best, the Engage Awards 2011.