Integrated marketing, also referred to as multichannel marketing, is a tactic where the business shares the same marketing message across different channels thus the messages amplify each other. This tactic has a defined target audience and combines both one-sided communication and interactive experiences in order to customise the message by channel where possible.
Potential customers will experience consistent messages across multiple channels and they will be encouraged to become fans, advocates and ambassadors of the brand echoing the brand’s message to a wider audience. As a result, the companies using integrated marketing make more sales and acquire a greater market share.
Most commonly used channels for integrated marketing
As the main characteristic of integrated marketing is the intentional blending of traditional offline marketing and modern online tools, this marketing tactic usually used the following media to deliver a single marketing strategy:
Influencer outreach – such as series of interviews with an expert from the industry
Interactive games and competitions for the consumers
Reasons for integrating marketing channels
Different marketing channels have different strengths and weaknesses and therefore some content fits one channel better than the other. But instead of customising the content differently for different channels, this marketing tactic integrates all the chosen channels because customers simply don’t pay attention to all different messaging coming from one company.
The companies must coordinate their messaging and continuously remind consumers about their brand – even if they already are aware of the brand’s existence – in order to make an impact on the potential consumers. Integrated marketing is also used when a company wishes to change the consumers’ perceptions of its brand and the value they offer.
