What Are The Best Ingredients For Your Integrated Marketing Recipe?
If your marketing (or mince pie) hits the nail on the head, you’re sure to be the talk of the town, or maybe the office kitchen!
So, what is integrated marketing? Well, social media, newspaper articles, television, email, visual merchandising, advertising and public relations are just a few tactics which can work in unison to make up your strategy. When these methods come together they can leave a lasting impression on your consumers which can then encourage engagement and increase interactions.
Here at Juicy we love a well curated strategy and as the festive season is upon us we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to look at the current John Lewis campaign, which we think is pretty darn good. The annual John Lewis Christmas advert reveal has become somewhat of a national event with the excitement growing each year.
Have you met Buster (or Biff, to his friends), the star of this year’s campaign?
The first step in the John Lewis Christmas campaign for 2016 was a tweet from the @bouncing2016 Twitter account. A short video was posted from the account with the hashtag #bouncebounce. The clip featured the soon-to-be star of the advert, Buster, watching on with great longing as his friend Bridget bounces away on a space hopper.
Without any attachment to the John Lewis brand, apart from the synonymous typeface used in the video, the clip sparked the interest of the Twitter-verse, with many users questioning if it could be a teaser for the full-length advert.
Well, they were right, it was a teaser… those cheeky chappies at John Lewis nearly fooled us! The next step was the release of the advert itself. Tweeted on the morning of 10 November, the nation was properly introduced to Buster… and let’s not forget Betsey, Hallie, Sid, Olivia and Otto too.
John Lewis correctly predicted the influx of tweets in response to the release of the ad and the team were ready to engage. Armed with custom-made GIFs, John Lewis were able to reply to individuals using animations featuring the animals from the advert with a tailored message, engaging with the user on a personal level.
Users were then prompted to send in images of their own pets, garden, or friends and family, so John Lewis could add ‘some festive magic’. After receiving the images, the brand replied with short video animations with the characters from the advert being added on to the picture, continuing on with the personal level of engagement.
Taking the campaign offline, John Lewis are offering a range of products inspired by the advert, from plush toys to wellies and even a space hopper, all available in stores.
Now here’s where it gets really cool. Pop along to the John Lewis Flagship store on Oxford Street and you can visit Buster’s garden using Oculus Rift technology. To you and me, it’s where you put on those big goggles and are transported to a virtual reality, in this case, you’re taken to the set of the advert. On the trampoline with the animals, you’re able to interact and jump around, fully immersing yourself into Buster’s world.
Can’t make it down to London to visit Buster’s garden? No worries, John Lewis have uploaded a full 360º video to YouTube, allowing you to experience Buster’s world from the screen of your smartphone, tablet or desktop.
A fully integrated strategy, both online and off… what did you think of it? Pretty good, huh.
Until next time, remember… like a good mince pie, the ingredients of your integrated marketing strategy need to come together in perfect harmony (and bake at 200º for 20 minutes!) to deliver the tastiest results!
Looking for a hand with developing your strategy? We’d love to talk it over (maybe with a few mince pies too), simply give us a call on 01256 335622 or email diane@juicymarketing.co.uk.