BEST PRACTICES | SEPTEMBER 2008
By Susan Clark, LinkShare Corporation


Reaching Out - Integrating Online/Offline Marketing Campaigns
The scale and influence of what the Internet age has become today makes it difficult to remember life prior to its inception. Today, over 220 million people have Internet access in the US, and 94% of that population uses the Internet to shop, according to The Nielsen Global Online Survey. In theory, the Internet is the perfect marketing medium; its reach and malleability allow organizations to market to their target audiences in real time. However, without considering buyer behavior, the full potential of this marketing springboard will not be realized.

The Internet is the third largest media outlet, growing 40% worldwide over last two years according to Nielsen. In addition to its organic growth as an advertising channel, traditional media can significantly boost online success.

Combining media types creates synergy, generating even greater results than with a sole medium. Whether your goal is to drive traffic to your website, your physical store or simply to the brand itself, using multiple marketing mediums can drastically increase your ROI.

Understanding how your online and offline efforts synchronize will assist you in determining how to allocate your marketing budget. Three key considerations ensure a successful campaign:

1. Creative integration: It is essential to have a consistent message communicated in every campaign. Integrating this message from offline collateral to the online space and vice versa, using consistent key words and graphics is vital in reinforcing the message and brand awareness. Example: Friends and family sales are coveted by consumers. Push these promotions out to a handful of your key publishers to boost sales through your affiliate channel, as well as solidifying these relationships.

2. Timing: Seasonality and holidays are both great promotional opportunities. By planning an integrated campaign in advance, lead times for various components of the campaign can be determined and executed accordingly.
Example: Launching a new season’s line or holiday sale across all channels simultaneously provides the most impact. Although the online space has the ability to turn around quickly, other collateral needs more time for layout and printing.

3. Targeting: Make your offline marketing campaign reflect the same target market of your online campaign. Continuous contact with the same target audience, along with consistent messaging, will solidify your brand awareness.

Example: Maintaining a database of existing and prospective customers will ease this process. With this resource, you are able to seamlessly alternate methods of communication, whether it is through emails, catalogs, RSS feeds or postcards, to the same target audience, conveying various promotions or simply reinforcing the brand.

In order to execute a successful online/offline integration, it is necessary to realize the capabilities of each component and how they will complement each other. An integrated campaign is an excellent way to maximize the technology of today while utilizing fundamental marketing initiatives, thus increasing ROI.