Entertainment Business leaders and entrepreneurs would be hard-pressed not to see the benefits of an effective Digital Marketing Campaign. Integrating digital channels into the overall marketing campaign is essential in this day and age of online communications. Organizations and private business owners need to define, design, and implement a cohesive digital strategy. Logistics and risk-assessment are key components when evaluating the company’s measurable business objectives. Digital channels need to be coordinated in the various areas of branding, marketing, PR, lead generation, and sales.
Researching and comparing various Digital Marketing Campaigns launched by established companies can be helpful to start-up businesses. The Pro’s and Con’s of online technologies and communications are an ongoing part of evaluation. Let’s take for example, two mega-brands’; Starbucks and BP Oil to further understand the value and impact of digital marketing. Each corporation utilized similar digital platforms; although be it, in very different ways. Alexandra Wheeler, the Director of Digital Strategy at Starbucks presented a lecture on Social Media Influence 2010. She emphasized, in regards to a successful digital marketing campaign, to “Be authentic to the brand and honor the brand” (Wheeler, 2010). She also discusses the importance of keeping content fresh and where possible, interactive.
Conversely, BP primarily set out to do damage control in an effort to squelch negative publicity after its monumentally disastrous gulf oil spill on April 20, 2010. (Note: coincidentally, it occurred two days before the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day; in which communities come together to share awareness and celebrations centered around environmental issues). BP used social media as part of a larger PR campaign. According to an article entitled, 5 Digital PR Lessons from BP's Oil Spill Response, “This spill has changed the way communicators will plan for and execute strategies around crises of all kinds. New questions are being asked and long-held assumptions are being challenged” (Capstick, July 12, 2010). The most significant of the top five lessons from BP’s online post-disaster presence is to, “Consider the ethics of social channels” (Capstick).
Here is a snapshot of the official BP.com website in which the readers can draw their own conclusions:
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| BP Press Release November 2, 2010 |
Entertainment Business leaders can learn from both examples of these Digital Marketing Campaigns. Currently, there are seven key Digital channels. They are as follows: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Paid Search/Pay-Per- Click Advertising, Promotion/PR, Digital Advertising, Social Media and Viral Marketing, Email Marketing, and Affiliate Marketing. According to Digital Marketing expert, Charles Everett, “Effective digital marketing campaigns utilize a wide range of desktop and mobile technologies to enable social interactions and encourage specific consumer behaviors” (Full Sail University, 2010). Let’s look at three specific digital channels for Entertainment Business industry professionals to use in their digital campaigns.
Affiliate Marketing – is a reward system for Strategic Alliance Partners to create mutually beneficial advertising campaigns.
Social Media and Viral Marketing – takes old-fashioned guerrilla marketing to a new level by connecting people within various online platforms. Accordingly, “Platforms will describe the various technologies and providers within each channel. Social networking and Facebook (a social networking provider) describe a particular platform within the Social Media channel” (Everett, 2010).
Email Marketing – can be individual and/or large-scale outreach, typical examples include both e-newsletters and e-blasts. The Business Partnerships and Community Rentals Department at Wells Fargo Center for the Arts just launched its first email marketing campaign as part of its ongoing branding efforts.
http://wellsfargocenterarts.org/facility.html
Strategic direction planning and monitoring are important tools for Entertainment Business professionals. Leadership responsibilities need to include measureable Key Performance Indictors (KPIs) that determine whether or not a particular digital marketing campaign is a success.
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