Building Campaigns That Work

• Sep 30th, 2009
• Posted by Ron Schott
• Posted in Good Ideas, Social Media, Spring Creek Group, Uncategorized

Yes, social media is great.  Yes, social media is the hot topic right now.  Yes, social media is what we have a passion for and what we, here at Spring Creek Group, love to talk about.  However, it’s not the end all.

The fact of the matter is, regardless of what’s hot and what area of communications and marketing we here at Spring Creek Group work in, we recognize the importance of fluid, cohesive campaigns— all aimed at similar goals.

We see ourselves here at SCG sitting basically in the middle of the marketing triangle, which is why we see the importance of putting together the right team around a campaign.  That’s why we have team members from the PR world sitting next to those from the analytics world who sit across from people from the advertising world – it’s an amalgamation, not superiority in one part of the marketing mix that is driving brands today.  By having team members with different backgrounds, it helps us work with partner agencies because we’ve been there and done that.

We’ve been the player.  We’ve been the coach.  Heck, we’ve even pulled the Pete Rose player/coach (but stayed away from the betting.  We’re still hoping to get in the HOF).

Here are our tips to building your marketing dream team:

Pick your all-stars – The MLB all-star game would be pretty boring (ok, more boring) if each team just loaded up with pitchers. On second thought, it’d be pretty funny, but that’s not the point. The point is that each team needs specialized players who are great at their job to accomplish the goal. Likewise, you want to pick the best players for your team in their given area. Yeah, a utility player might play all the positions, but is he the best at any one of them?

Communication – While it’s the most-important part of any operation, communication is also the area where breakdowns occur most-often. Provide easy and open communication between your PR, Advertising, SMM, and other teams with a clear path for escalation. This will save you time and money, while giving each agency a sense of worth in the mix.

Divide and conquer – Yes, there will be overlap and that’s unavoidable, but where possible, create clear distinctions between your marketing partners. While they might see it as a wrap on the knuckles at first, it will eventually help quell land grabs and stepping on toes further down the road.

Stay true to your brand – It’s your brand. It’s your baby. Developing and maintaining your brand’s voice is something that you may allow others to have a hand in, but at the end of the day, it’s you who has your name on the business card next to the company logo. Don’t compromise your brand for anything.

Take a lesson from King Arthur – Everyone feels more comfortable when they have an equal seat at the table (in this case one of the round variety). Letting each partner or agency know that their opinions matter and are heard is important to creating a team where ideas are shared rather than horded for an opportune moment.

Everyone will have their own ideas of which part of the marketing mix is most important, but the fact still comes down to creating an actual mix of advertising, PR, marketing and SMM outreach that creates the experience your customers want and respond to.