Marketing & PR Firms - Teamwork in Integrated Marketing Communication
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Teamwork is an essential factor in integrated marketing communications. The integrated approach requires close collaboration and coordination between the people who develop creative campaign themes and the people who translate those themes into advertising, public relations and other forms of marketing communication. Teamwork ensures the success of an integrated campaign in terms of results and cost-effectiveness.
Team
An integrated marketing campaign team brings together people from account planning, account management, creative, production and media departments as well as specialists in different campaign disciplines. A single campaign might include press advertising, email marketing, sales training, social media, sales promotion, retail support and public relations.
Structure
Integrated marketing agencies vary in their structure. In some cases, an agency will offer all services from within its own resources. It may also form part of a marketing services group so that it can draw on other group company resources for specialist services. Other integrated agencies provide creative and campaign management resources, working with independent marketing services companies to deliver the campaign elements. A report by Adbrands on the structure of the advertising industry points out that there is an increasing blurring of the lines between different disciplines. This makes the coordinating role of the integrated agency even more important.
Cooperation
Teamwork between different suppliers and different agency departments can be difficult to manage. As an article in a marketing agency newsletter points out, individual team members often have their own agendas and are looking to get the best share of a client's integrated campaign budget. The agency recommends that the lead agency in an integrated campaign appoint a strong campaign manager who recognizes the value of each team member and supplier and controls the allocation of the budget.
Objectives
Establishing objectives is the starting point for effective teamwork on an integrated campaign. This ensures that all agency and external team members are working toward a common goal. The campaign manager should work with representatives from all internal departments and external suppliers to set the objectives and monitor compliance throughout the campaign.
Campaign Management
Online marketing portals help team members manage campaigns. Team members can access briefing documents, background research, budgets, creative work, meeting reports and schedules. Use document control to ensure that team members always work on the latest version. Set up a common approval process to maintain quality control.
Resource Management
A key element of integrated campaigns is the use of common creative elements such as photographs and other images, copy, creative themes and artwork. This ensures consistent creative treatment in each campaign element, which helps to deliver improved results. It also reduces overall campaign costs by maximizing use of existing elements. To help teams utilize common material, publish a corporate identity guide and an online directory of campaign resources.
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Marketing, Marketing amp; PR Firms
Team
An integrated marketing campaign team brings together people from account planning, account management, creative, production and media departments as well as specialists in different campaign disciplines. A single campaign might include press advertising, email marketing, sales training, social media, sales promotion, retail support and public relations.
Structure
Integrated marketing agencies vary in their structure. In some cases, an agency will offer all services from within its own resources. It may also form part of a marketing services group so that it can draw on other group company resources for specialist services. Other integrated agencies provide creative and campaign management resources, working with independent marketing services companies to deliver the campaign elements. A report by Adbrands on the structure of the advertising industry points out that there is an increasing blurring of the lines between different disciplines. This makes the coordinating role of the integrated agency even more important.
Cooperation
Teamwork between different suppliers and different agency departments can be difficult to manage. As an article in a marketing agency newsletter points out, individual team members often have their own agendas and are looking to get the best share of a client's integrated campaign budget. The agency recommends that the lead agency in an integrated campaign appoint a strong campaign manager who recognizes the value of each team member and supplier and controls the allocation of the budget.
Objectives
Establishing objectives is the starting point for effective teamwork on an integrated campaign. This ensures that all agency and external team members are working toward a common goal. The campaign manager should work with representatives from all internal departments and external suppliers to set the objectives and monitor compliance throughout the campaign.
Campaign Management
Online marketing portals help team members manage campaigns. Team members can access briefing documents, background research, budgets, creative work, meeting reports and schedules. Use document control to ensure that team members always work on the latest version. Set up a common approval process to maintain quality control.
Resource Management
A key element of integrated campaigns is the use of common creative elements such as photographs and other images, copy, creative themes and artwork. This ensures consistent creative treatment in each campaign element, which helps to deliver improved results. It also reduces overall campaign costs by maximizing use of existing elements. To help teams utilize common material, publish a corporate identity guide and an online directory of campaign resources.
