How does an integrated campaign strategy differ when designed to meet pipeline/revenue goals versus a broader, TOFU-centric goal like increasing brand awareness?
I believe that all integrated campaigns should exist to drive pipeline & revenue (there is an exception though: when this is not true is when you are creating a category).
The biggest difference between these two goals is the volume and the type of buyers you choose to ignore or add to your campaign strategy.
For example, an integrated campaign strategy that is focused on meeting pipe goals (assuming limited funds) is focused (more) on two buyer stages - Consideration & Intent. It therefore already assumes that the majority of buyers are aware of the product category and the existence of possible solutions in the market.
- Your biggest leverage point here is to make yourself known in specific buying situations (eg. 'we are an affordable alternative to XYZ', 'we are easier to use compared to ABC'). Think of these as inputs to your ad creatives, content assets, etc.
- You contain these seemingly disparate buying situations into a 'Campaign theme', a singular go-to-market messaging that focuses the collective energy of all GTM teams in your organization
- You now create the right mix of offers that get your buyers to self-select themselves into the demand funnel. What is the type and number of webinars, owned vs 3rd party events, content assets, Demos, Free Trials, Free for forever plan, etc?
- You develop a media plan that lays out these offers in a certain sequence, and the time period and is promoted using specific tactics. Since your focus is pipe-gen, it's important to have an educated pov on gated vs ungated content strategy. This, usually, is not as big a concern area in a Brand marketing campaign.
The strategy will differ by the tools, tracking, and performance reporting you’ll use. Since the desired impact differs (revenue versus awareness), the tactics too will typically differ. Here’s my perspective:
- Pipeline revenue: The type of tactics I recommend for this would be more mature and higher converters such as SEO. It is rare to see an SEO program that does not support revenue successfully.
- Increasing brand awareness: The type of tactics I recommend for this would consist of a mix of awareness touch points. I would answer the question of, where do our customers like to hang out? Where do we need to have a presence to get in front of that type of audience?
I’m personally not of the belief that there is only one approach to this. There are so many variables I would customize my recommendation based on the perspective above.