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Concepts & Communication — June 26, 2014

Cross-platform campaigns

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Single platform campaigns are dead, long live cross-platform campaigns.

Not even a decade ago, advertising campaigns were created specifically for one platform such as TV. Nowadays, single platform campaigns are slowly disappearing. Advertisers have recognized the advantages of new technologies and are starting to implement them into their traditional TV, radio and print advertising campaigns. Today, more potential customers spend time on the Internet and social media than watching TV or listening to the radio. Services such as Facebook or Twitter manage to connect people and provide them with a place to share their experiences and conversations with their friends. With the internet being more accessible to a wider audience, social media services can bloom.

Multiple platforms increase reach and engagement

By integrating social media and information technology into advertising campaigns advertisers can dramatically increase the reach of their campaigns, as well as the engagement of potential customers. Increased reach and engagement produce better results which are relatively easy to track and analyze. For example, Facebook’s ad platform enables easy tracking of conversions through Facebook, while Google Analytics enables the integration of conversion tracking into any website or application.

Campaigns that integrate multiple platforms in their implementation are called cross-platform campaigns. Such a description of an advertising campaign is bound to disappear in the near future as almost all advertising campaigns will have to be cross-platform in order to reach relevant audiences. Nowadays, it is not enough for an advertiser to create a TV spot or place an ad in the daily newspaper and expect miracles from their advertising campaign. It is necessary to adapt the campaign and its communication across multiple channels in order to achieve the best possible results in terms of ROI and brand awareness.

The last square in a chocolate bar is the best one

A great example of a cross-platform campaign comes from Milka, a world-renowned brand of chocolate from Switzerland. Milka wanted to put their brand promise „Dare to be tender“ in action and encourage tenderness and generosity in their customers. The campaign assumption was simple and sweet: „The last square in a chocolate bar is the best one.“ By physically removing one square from each chocolate bar, Milka decided to put the decision of who gets the last square in the hands of the customers. Customers had the opportunity to share the last square with whomever they decided. The last square was then sent by mail and was accompanied by the customer’s personal message to the person of their choice. The results were amazing! Check them out in the video below.

Milka has managed to integrate multiple platforms in their highly successful advertising campaign. It was done, among other things, by changing the manufacturing process and creating a special website for this project.

Every day, advertisers produce new cross-platform campaigns that set the bar higher. The technology is here for the taking and those who find innovative ways to use it in their advertising campaigns will stay ahead of the rest. Now, more than ever, there is a necessity to combine traditional and digital marketing, to create campaigns that will reach the entire target audience and encourage customer engagement.