The Anatomy 
of a Cross-Media Campaign
Legend has it, actually Wikipedia claims, one of the first successful cross-media marketing campaigns centered around disco.
According to the site, the first notable occurrence of cross-media marketing occurred in 1977 with the release of the film "Saturday Night Fever" and its soundtrack. The single "How Deep Is Your Love" by the Bee Gees was originally meant to be recorded by Yvonne Elliman for an unrelated album, but it was decided by RSO Records to have the Bee Gees record it and released in an effort to promote the film. The film's release ended up promoting the single and the entire soundtrack.
Well, cross-media campaigns have come a long way since the Bee Gees. Campaigns have gotten much more sophisticated during the last 30-plus years with the help of technology. Understanding cross-media campaigns is the first step to building one and eventually making one work.
A cross-media campaign combines print, e-mail, the Web, personalized URLs (PURLs), QR codes, mobile and/or social media on a one-to-one basis and provides multiple opportunities to reach every recipient. It delivers relevant content and a call to action through multiple channels simultaneously as an integrated campaign. This type of marketing can be very helpful because it can provide a company or organization with an increased return on investment (ROI), more opportunities to interact with audiences, greater response rates and the ability to view customer responses and create a database in real time. The key elements of any well-integrated campaign are audience, media and message. The best channels to use vary depending on audience demographics and the campaign message.
James Michelson, founder and principal at Indianapolis-based JFM Concepts and author of "Cross Media Marketing 101: The concise guide to surviving in the C-Suite," followed this by saying, cross-media campaigns are really nothing new.
"Marketers have been issuing the same message on multiple channels since the inception of mass marketing. Coordinated TV, radio and print ads are nothing new. What makes a campaign become cross-media or cross-channel is how the responses are funneled into a single data collection point, either systematically or manually, to generate a dialog with the prospect.
"The creation of a two-way dialog is the key feature of a closed loop marketing campaign. Marketers need to gather information from their clients and use that information to generate the follow-up communications—regardless of channel. Prospects must also be able to communicate back to the marketer either actively or passively by being driven to an electronic collection mechanism. Any channel or medium can be employed. Anything else is just advertising."
Laura Terry, CEO of Rockford, Illinois-based Trekk, Inc., agreed leveraging the multiple modes of technology to engage recipients in an ongoing dialog is key.
"While the ultimate goal of most campaigns is acquisition, retention or growth, the foundational goal is building trust, intimacy and an ongoing, rewarding relationship for both sides," Terry commented.
Any good campaign has a beginning, middle and end.
The first step in campaign development is defining goals, Terry explained.
"The desired outcome can be lead generation, revenue generation, data collection or any other measurable goal that is tied to a set of marketing and/or organizational objectives. The goals should be very specific and measurable through the campaign tools," Terry said. An example would be "Generate direct sale revenues of $2 million in the third quarter and fourth quarter," she noted.
Chris Wright, director of digital solutions for Freedom, Pennsylvania-headquartered MSP, agreed goals are important.
"If you are fortunate enough as a true partner to work directly with marketing executives (CMO, vice president of marketing, director of marketing), it is critically important to understand first and foremost the ultimate goal. What is the marketing executive, and ultimately the business, trying to achieve? Is the goal to sell 10,000 widgets? Is the goal to build brand awareness? Is the goal to find new customers? Is the goal to cross-sell to existing customers? Once you clearly understand the parameters of the goal and the manner in which success will be measured, you can begin to discuss a strategy and then tactics."
Michelson explained the easiest and least expensive way to start in cross-media is to add unique landing pages on every channel employed with content-specific messages and an easy opt-in form.
"A single page site usually suffices. There is no need to change the marketing mix in order to begin," Michelson said. "Radio, TV, billboards, the side of a bus and even a T-shirt can feature a link to a landing page as an additional collection mechanism. Instead of saying: 'Visit us at acme.com,' consider 'Visit us at acmeoffer.com' to improve conversions and start the two-way conversation required for a closed loop campaign."
The second step in cross-media campaign development is defining the target audience—those individuals most likely to respond to the offer, Terry added. "From there, demographic and psychographic data will allow us to communicate very personally with those customers and prospects, and reach them in ways that will most likely result in the desired outcome," Terry said.
Once a company figures out the goals, then it's on to determining design, fulfillment, follow-up and analysis.
Michelson explained the current design of the marketing mix can serve as the baseline for any cross-media campaign.
"Simply add landing pages and other unique tracking devices, such as PURLs for personalized direct mail or e-mail and add specific phone numbers to measure what Web visits, calls or leads were generated from what channel," Michelson encouraged. "The information captured will provide a 'warm lead list' of prospects to follow up with by their chosen form of communication."
Wright reminded that every project is different.
"One size does not fit all," Wright said. "That's why they hire us as marketing experts and consultants—to evaluate the situation and provide solutions. As described above, the goal or effort drives strategy and tactics. Budgets, or more specifically budget restrictions, certainly play a role as well. Additionally, the audience may dictate the mediums used. For instance, if your client is the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), I would not recommend social media as your primary vehicle."
All elements of a cross-media campaign, including design, fulfillment, follow-up and analysis are developed to maximize the results of the specific program, Terry remarked.
"Digital and variable data technologies allow us to design each campaign element to make the most effective use of available data, communicating on a one-to-one basis with every single prospect or customer," she said. "Microsites, personalized URLs, QR codes and other technologies allow us to drive customers and prospects to a destination at which they can choose their fulfillment elements and delivery. And, tracking and analysis are determined by measurement against the campaign goals. For example, if our goal is to generate qualified leads, our data collection, tracking and analytics must be designed to define and separate qualified from unqualified leads."
Once all that hard work is in, how does a company track results and ensure a campaign is working?
Terry warned it is critical that tracking tools are set up to measure results.
"Apart from analyzing sales data and tying it to response activity, one of the best ways to track campaign results is to drive respondents to a website, microsite or personalized URL. Once there, we can use powerful tools, such as Google Analytics, to measure site behavior against the goals we established for the campaign," Terry said. "By setting up marketing dashboards, we can track responses from all the elements of our campaign, including e-mail, social media, banner ads, traditional ads, SEO/SEM, QR codes, etc. More advanced tool capabilities even allow us to trace sales transactions to campaigns and keywords, providing ROI reporting that gives us valuable information for current and future campaigns."
Tracking data and results is the main challenge that cross-media marketing campaigns are designed to overcome, Michelson noted. There are two typical scenarios.
"First, large organizations may have good corporate IT and Web departments, but there is usually no regular access at the individual marketer level. Even if detailed analytics are collected, they usually reside in a different power center. On the other side of the spectrum, smaller firms usually outsource most, if not all, of their IT and Web requirements. The solution is to conduct data collection outside of the main corporate site on an advertisement by advertisement basis. This will show definitively how many hits or leads came from what source and document ROI."
Size Doesn't Matter
And all you little guys out there who think you don't have the manpower and the money to back up this type of marketing, rest easy. These campaigns are at reach for everyone.
"We have all been to the big trade shows and seen the 500 lb. gorillas in the room (with their equally large budgets) give case studies about teams of MBAs and data analysts creating wondrous campaigns," Michelson said. "These kinds of cases are the exception, not the rule. Most cross-media marketing campaigns are much simpler affairs that do not require the assistance of other departments. Many marketers in large companies do not have access to corporate resources and rely on their own small budgets so most of us are in the same position. The creation of personas, business logic in Excel and the collection of data on content specific landing pages can be accomplished with simple to use Software as a Service (SaaS) with limited budgets and existing staff."
Wright declared cross-media campaigns are not just for large companies.
"Campaigns can be designed for most budgets. It's important to remember that although cross-media marketing campaigns cost more than just a single channel marketing campaign, the potential ROI of a well executed project is also greater. The campaigns have a set-up cost for the dashboards, reporting and programming. The number of man hours required depends on the complexity of the project."
Terry added, the flexibility and ROI measurability of cross-media marketing makes it a smart investment for companies both large and small. Unlike mass media, cross-media campaigns are highly targeted, audience-of-one activities that can be as large or small as a company's budget allows. The technologies and tools required to execute and track a cross-media campaign have become more readily available and affordable. It's critical for all companies to partner with a marketing services provider that understands how to best leverage the power of every single element in a cross-media campaign to meet their short- and long-term goals."
Hard Work Pays Off
Michelson explained there are simple and cost-effective ways to combine traditional marketing techniques with emerging technologies to capitalize on new revenue streams. There is more opportunity for marketing and print service providers than just adding landing page design, hosting, PURLs, QR codes and data collection.
"New revenue streams can be created for print and marketing service providers by using the Web to drive fulfillment rather than by using print to drive Web traffic," Michelson said. "For example, a cross-media campaign (such as a unique Web address announced on the radio or over the public address system at a stadium) with a landing page can be used to trigger a fulfillment process of direct mail, collateral packages or promotional items. These can be charged at a premium since quantities are low and are based on performance. Additionally, they are incremental costs to existing marketing programs that require no change to the client's marketing mix, so it is an easy add on. The sales cycle for this kind of project is also very short."
Establishing goals, creating a message and communicating it via print, e-mail and online channels is pretty straightforward and can provide a company with an increased ROI, more opportunities to interact with audiences and greater response rates.