What is a Marketing Campaign?

A marketing campaign, or a marketing strategy, is a long-term approach to promote a product or service through multiple mediums. It typically has one goal, which tends to be to an increase sales of a specific product. However, marketing campaigns don’t only have to revolve around one product; it can also have a goal to improve the image of an entire brand or company. It can be synonymous with a public relations campaign.

Today, marketing campaigns typically use media as the main avenue to conduct one – either through social media, television advertisements, or online advertisements. However, more traditional mediums are still used, including newsprint, live demonstrations, and word of mouth.

Summary

• Marketing campaigns are a long-term approach to promote a product or service. Creating a goal and a vision at the beginning of the campaign is vital.
• Reaching the appropriate target audience is paramount in a marketing campaign.
• The delivery of the target campaign should form around the type of consumer that is being targeted.

Marketing Campaign Components

The components of a marketing campaign include a planning stage, evaluating how the results of the campaign will be measured, determining a target market, how the campaign will be delivered, how to achieve results, and finally, to assess how well the campaign did.

1. Planning

During the planning stage, it is important to find the goal of the marketing campaign and understand what it is trying to accomplish. Once these are determined for a campaign, it is easier to build a vision and understand the next necessary steps.

2. Measurement

Creating a measurement criterion to be able to effectively analyze how the marketing campaign has performed is incredibly important. Some measurement tools can be the number of sales, pre-orders, consumer sentiment for the product, shares on social media, or how the campaign is perceived in the news.

3. Identification of the target market

Determining a target market is paramount to ensure that the right product is being marketing to the right client; this is one of the cornerstones of marketing. An important aspect of picking the target market is understanding what stage the consumer is in the buying process.

If the product is a new innovative technology, the target market should be centered around innovators or early adopters – those who are willing and seeking to try new technologies and products. Whereas if the product is entering a developed market space, perhaps targeting an early majority or late majority audience would fare better.

4. Delivery of the marketing campaign

The delivery of the target campaign should form around the type of consumer that is being targeted. If the target market consists of innovators or early adopters, perhaps the delivery of a marketing campaign would be better suited to a medium that revolves around social media. Whereas if the target market is not as in tune with technology, a low-tech delivery of the marketing campaign may be better suited.

5. Results

To be able to achieve results, it is important to frequently refer to the goals that were set out from the beginning of the campaign. There may not be a set formula to achieve results, as every marketing campaign varies significantly. However, calibrating and perhaps re-calibrating marketing efforts to align with goals is vital in order to achieve desired results.

6. Assessment of the marketing campaign

After the marketing campaign has achieved a result, it is important to assess the results of the campaign and evaluate its effectiveness. An assessment can also be achieved from external sources through feedback from consumers.

A common assessment method to release a feedback forum to consumers when the product is purchased and used. Analyzing the feedback from consumers can be incredibly helpful to understanding if the marketing campaign was successful or if the efforts should be re-evaluated.

Examples

Marketing campaigns are integral for businesses in a highly competitive market to differentiate from the competition; furthermore, they are very common when a new product or a new piece of technology or innovation is being released. Some notable marketing campaigns are Dove Shampoo’s “Real Beauty” campaign and Skittles’ “Taste the Rainbow” campaign.

Related Readings

CFI is the official provider of the global Commercial Banking & Credit Analyst (CBCA)™ certification program, designed to help anyone become a world-class financial analyst. To keep advancing your career, the additional CFI resources below will be useful:

• 4 P’s of Marketing
• Marketing Strategy
• Total Addressable Market (TAM)
• Walmart Marketing Mix