In order to begin a discussion about what cross-media is, it’s equally important to focus on what cross-media isn’t. Cross-media should not be seen as a product, but rather a solution you offer your customers.
Cross-media is essentially a service, experience, story, or brand distributed in different ways across media platforms such as television, radio, direct mail, computers, tablets, and so on. In the ever changing world of marketing, it is more important than ever to maximize the reach and impact of any given campaign to ensure it is not lost to potential prospects and customers.
Why Should You Focus on Cross-Media?
There is no doubt marketing use to be easier. The early days of advertising were narrow, simple, and straight forward: “Here’s our product, this is our media, and this is our message.”
Nowadays with the presence and reach of digital, it is impossible for a service provider to deny the value of cross-media. The overall culture of today’s world is constantly bouncing from one media source to the next in a race to acquire information. Where one person might watch TV and spend an hour a day on his or her computer, another might spend the entire day on his or her smartphone and tablet, reading the news and checking email for continuous updates.
That is why is it imperative that solutions providers learn to narrow down what media types will reach the farthest amount of prospects based on the product or service they are looking to market. Once they narrow down the media platforms, the next step is to develop a consistent campaign that ties the story and the offer together seamlessly.
For Example
Let's go over a hypothetical example of a cross-media campaign where the new local coffee shop opening in the town plaza. Once this café (let’s call them Coffee Beans) has found a service provider to help get the word out about their grand opening, they decide to begin with a direct mail campaign. The campaign starts with a postcard offer regarding the open, such as a first chance opportunity to be in Coffee Bean’s Barista of the Month Club. In order to receive the offer, the recipients are directed to a personalized URL by means of a QR Code. Should the recipients scan the link they would then be sent to a landing page personalized to them. Once they are on the landing page (or microsite), they can choose to accept the offer where they will then be sent a ‘thank you’ email containing details of the event signup.
How do You Think of Cross-Media?
Adding cross-media to the marketing solutions of any service provider is critical in this age of information accessibility. The traditional industries of media are changing daily and an endless introduction of new technology has made the job of marketing more complex than ever.
As mobile use rises, traditional media offers opportunities for customers to engage in a campaign anywhere at any time, and customers can access information from a variety of platforms in their own home. Evolving with these technologies and keeping an eye on the advances of competitors is critical for success in today’s industry.
Cross-media does not bring a product or service to the table but rather a solution or value to what any given service provider already offers. In order to market this solution, try to focus on the benefits a cross-media campaign could bring to what you already have, then decide what options will best enhance your original product.