The Right Stuff

Just in time for Father's Day, Unilever's Dove brand launched "First Fatherhood Moments," a multichannel campaign celebrating that life-changing moment when a man first learns he's going to be a dad. The campaign featured a video montage of real dads finding out that they are going to become fathers; a press release with an interactive call-to-action; an educational, user-generated forum for first-time fathers; a mobile app and more. The video alone, which is available on YouTube, gained more than a million views during its first day.

Unilever isn't the first company to adopt a multichannel strategy, and it certainly won't be the last. As digital technology continues to evolve—and attention spans dwindle—it's no longer enough to pick one channel and hope it sticks. When marketing to a hyper-connected society, it is important to create as many touch points as possible to get your message seen and remembered.

That's not to say you should overwhelm prospects with emails, social media and QR codes—you need to offer a seamless, consistent experience across all communication channels. Here's how to launch a cohesive campaign.

1. Set goals upfront

A favorable campaign outcome hinges on strategy. The Dove campaign is a great example. The brand teamed its First Fatherhood Moments campaign with its Dove Men+Care product line. Why? After conducting careful research studies (e.g., "Care Makes a Man Stronger" and "Google Dove Men+Care New Dad Survey"), Dove learned that men feel more equipped to better care for their families after fitting in some self-care. Dove marketers kept this in mind when building the multichannel strategy, proving that a little homework goes a long way.

"If you don't know what you're trying to accomplish, you won't know who to target, the best ways to communicate with them or what messages will resonate with them," said Sarah Mannone, vice president of client services, TREKK, Rockford, Ill.

Are you trying to generate leads? Increase sales? Collect data? Your business objectives will dictate your channels, your content and your offers, Mannone added. "Campaign goals should be very specific and measurable," she instructed. "Create a roadmap of all the channels and tactics you'll deploy, and create a version of this roadmap for each of your target audiences (prospect vs. customer; IT vs. procurement; decision-makers vs. influencers, etc.). At each touch point in the roadmap, show how you'll track response, what tactic will be deployed depending on response (or lack of)."

Mannone also recommended leveraging any existing data to better target campaigns. "If that data lives in the hearts and mind of sales, spend time uncovering it," she said. "If it doesn't exist, survey your current buyers and define their buyer persona."

2. Make it worthwhile

Getting prospects to open emails, visit websites and watch videos is only part of the equation. The real value comes when they actually respond to your marketing efforts and make a purchase. This requires a strong call to action.

For Tony Abunassar, president of Hunt Valley, Maryland-based WebbMason Interactive and chief operating officer of WebbMason Commercial, that means good messaging, smart creative and the right target. "A strong call to action and hard value of why this product is good for you is really important," he stressed. "The more you learn about your products and services with advanced data analytics on clients, the more you'll understand which offers are most effective with your clients and prospects."

Offers are another way to incentivize engagement. The key is choosing the appropriate one for your audience. Mannone said to find out where your prospect is in the buying process. "Prospects who are just beginning to feel a pain point will be more interested in educational content or research reports," she explained. "For those closer to the decision stage, a live demonstration or consultation offer would be helpful. The goal is to match the offer to their needs at that moment in time."

3. Obey the rules of video

Video is becoming an increasingly popular marketing tool. According to Cisco's Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast, video will account for 72 percent of total mobile traffic by 2019.

Remember Dove's "First Fatherhood Moments" video montage that we discussed earlier? It was arguably the most effective part of the campaign. In Dove's case, video was the perfect platform to capture a highly emotional—and relatable—moment. Depending on your goals, video might be a good fit for your campaign, as well. But there are certain guidelines to consider when working with this channel.

First, keep videos short. No one is interested in a 15-minute dissertation on your product. "It doesn't have to be a million-dollar production," Abunassar remarked. "Users will only watch for seconds, maybe a minute. Short, sweet, easy-to the point."

In addition, choose the format that fits your audience and your objectives. "That could be a fast-moving motion graphic or animation designed to encourage interest in a new product or service," Mannone commented. "It could be video of an expert offering tips or advice. Or, it could be a well-produced and believable customer testimonial."

4. Combine new and old media

With so much emphasis on new media, is there still a place for print? Absolutely. Thanks to digital enhancements, including augmented reality and social platforms, the printed piece is perfectly positioned to engage prospects from a cross-media perspective. From direct mail to signage, print is what moves audiences to more interactive experiences. "That new media is a blend of traditional tactics with new media influence merged together into a campaign," said Abunassar. "Print has continued to play a major role in brand recognition and putting products and services in front of a customer, reaching them in different ways. [...] Print is playing even more of a role to connect one communication to the other."

Mannone agreed and expanded on this point. "Print in the
way of labeling and packaging, I think, is especially ripe for new technology," she said. "The Internet of things enables us to connect product to our Web and mobile technology, and it all starts with labeling and packaging."

5. Respect data

Data—collecting it, cleaning it and analyzing it—can be an issue in any marketing campaign, but it can be even more challenging for a cross-media or multichannel campaign. "It's critical to gain a holistic view of how each communication touch point interacts with or informs the next," Mannone said. "That requires a change in mindset.

"We need to look at it as an ecosystem-a living thing. One piece does not exist in isolation," she continued. "All should be integrated together to move a prospect or customer through the buyer journey."

6. Budget wisely

Whether you're still trying to recover lost recessionary funds or swimming in money Scrooge McDuck-style, we've got good news: Multichannel campaigns can be designed to meet a variety of budgets. Abunassar suggested solving one problem at a time—especially with a new client.

"Make it a small campaign that can be executed easily," he said. "That can show results quickly. That can show the client that with the right kind of messaging, the right kind of targeting and the right kind of data segmentation, we can create simple, quick results." From there, you can go for the bigger budget, Abunassar added.