November 20 marks “National Absurdity Day” – did you know that was a thing?
Neither did we, honestly, but we still love the idea of taking a moment to appreciate some of the absurdity that pops up in our work in integrated communications:
Not Setting Measurable Goals
The first thing we do with all of our clients, regardless of a project’s scope or size, is define success.
Then, we identify how to measure that success. At our agency, we LOVE data. This could mean increased engagement on social media, more website page views, higher email newsletter sign-ups, earned media opportunities, or improved sales.
If you are working on a marketing plan that doesn’t have a clear way to measure success, we are sorry to tell you, but that is absurd! Work to set baseline metrics that will document your success, and pull those numbers regularly.
Expecting Overnight Success
Real success takes time.
Sure, there is the extremely rare time when an organization may seem to achieve success seemingly overnight, but this generally takes a ton of planning and time, not to mention a substantial amount of money. Without all three, this expectation can absolutely be classified as absurd.
Your integrated communications plans will require you to build relationships with your target audiences, earn trust in your industry, position your company as a thought leader within key publications, and much more.
All of those things take a smart strategy and time to implement, measure, and adjust. That’s why our clients receive regular reports on all of our activities, so that we can track their ongoing successes and amend as needed.
Relying on a Single Tactic
On occasion, a company will reach out to us because they want to implement a single tactic, like say a billboard, to help them reach a sales goal.
Our unique approach relies on integrated communications because we know the value of leveraging several tactics together to create real results. While a billboard may be a component of a campaign, tying that effort to a specific landing page with clear calls-to-action that is also supported by a robust digital campaign will be so much more effective.
While implementing a single tactic isn’t absurd, attaching unrealistic expectations to it, is. If you really just want to print a single ad, or put up a billboard, go for it, but make sure you understand the limited potential.
Our wish for you is to stay far away from the absurd and embrace real success! If your marketing and communications efforts aren’t delivering the results you desire, let’s connect!
