MAL 22/18 MAL 22/18 | Page 38

MEDIA SCENE AdReaction – The Art Of Integration By Soumya Saklani T he 2018 AdReaction study, The Art of Integration, examines the global state of multichannel advertising campaigns and guides marketers on how to best navigate the myriad channel choices and ad formats, while delivering effective, integrated campaigns, well understood across channels by consumers. The report found that while the benefits of well-integrated and customised ad campaigns are substantial, boosting campaign effectiveness by 57%, this represented fewer than half (46%) of all campaigns tested. What’s more, the study revealed that marketers and consumers have different views on whether campaigns successfully fit together. Most marketers (89%) surveyed believe their campaign strategies are integrated, but just over half (58%) of consumers agree. The study is based on new quantitative research in 45 countries, multichannel copy testing of 12 campaigns from eight countries, and custom analysis of Kantar Millward Brown’s global media effectiveness and copy testing databases. The results provide marketers with a global and country-by-country analysis of how consumers and marketers view integration, the importance of customising content for each placement, and the characteristics of campaigns that work. Consumers feel overwhelmed by advertising from all angles while marketers struggle to make the most of ad formats and channels to best reach consumers, and the latest AdReaction report unveils a disconnect between how marketers and consumers perceive campaign success. In AdReaction, we’ve laid out guiding principles to help marketers better integrate campaigns across channels and identify the key creative elements of successful campaigns as best practices. The report identifies several guiding principles for brands to consider when implementing multichannel campaigns The results provide marketers with a global and country-by-country analysis of how consumers and marketers view integration, the impor- tance of customising content for each place- ment, and the characteristics of campaigns that work. 36 MAL22/18 ISSUE that build successful brands and avoid the pitfalls of fragmentation. Integrate more campaign cues Even without any customisation, integrated campaigns are 31% more effective at building brands, yet still one in four of the campaigns analysed were not well integrated. The more cues used, the better. Consumers expect multichannel campaigns to deliver basic connective elements like the same logo and slogan. However, the study shows that consistent characters or personalities are the individual cues which most help brand impact, often differentiating the best campaigns. The report also found that all channels benefit from synergies, but some channels work particularly well with each other. The strongest overall synergy combinations are between TV and Facebook, and TV and outdoor. Start with a strong campaign idea The idea is the most important component of the campaign. Great campaigns need a strong central idea to act as connective tissue across all content, and integrated content needs to cue this idea. Campaigns with a strong central idea perform better