Common Mistakes When Creating a Campaign

Campaigns at TIV Branding come in many shapes and forms. They can be entirely digital, they can be entirely traditional, or they can be a combination of both. But no matter the final channel, there are some tried and true processes that should be followed as well as some common mistakes that can be easily avoided to help a campaign have the biggest impact possible.

1. The Decision-Makers Aren't Part of the Process

Everyone loves the big reveal. Many people believe the adrenaline-inducing presentation that leaves an audience of clients in awe is why agency principals do what they do. But there’s a movement in the creative agency community to move away from the presentation and replace that process with more consistent check-ins throughout the development of a campaign. It’s fun to come in with the big idea, but it’s way more effective to get the decision-makers involved from the get go. 

At TIV we make sure the key people aren’t just involved in the DISCOVER phase as a source of insider knowledge and unique industry insight, but are included in big picture discussions of how the creative is taking shape, and how it will work across all of the channels being utilized in the campaign. Part of why this is so effective is at that point the response can be more “I like where this is headed...let’s see how it evolves.” And less of an all-or-nothing approval that’s required immediately prior to launch. 
It’s also important to know up front if the creative is flawed. It allows less knee-jerk changes and more thought out solutions. The last thing a campaign needs is a last minute change. There’s almost no way to effectively explore how that change will roll across all channels if it’s a rush. The post-action recaps in those cases almost always reveal an opportunity that was missed.

2. Digital is an Afterthought

There’s still a big part of the business world that relies on traditional marketing tactics. Print, outdoor, direct mail and other “old fashioned” tactics have actually become more effective because those channels have become less crowded thanks to digital. But we are big proponents of making sure even more traditional channels are supported, even in just a small way, with digital. 

Even if the decision is made to not roll a version of the campaign creative out in social, or the budget just isn’t there to support an effective programmatic campaign, the channels must be considered. We’ve had campaigns that started under the traditional category end up with a digital push that outweighed the more traditional channels....all because we didn’t just assume that was the way to go. 

3. Traditional is an Afterthought

Take number two and swap the words digital and traditional, right? Not exactly, that’s but definitely the essence. It’s way too easy to assume digital is the answer these days. But it’s a crowded space and an impression doesn’t necessarily translate into a customer. For that reason we make sure and take every campaign presented to us by a client as digital and consider in the DISCOVER phase whether a traditional channel might help support the digital channels. That’s the reason why TIV Branding is setup the way we are. We make sure and consider all channels for a client, rather than a client being tasked with coordinating multiple agencies and hoping the campaign comes together as a whole.

4. You Skip the Post-action Recap

It’s easy to move onto the next thing when a campaign is complete, especially when it’s a success. Pats on the back all around, but who’s to say the same approach will work again? And what can we learn from the campaign,  both positive and negative? There’s always a better way and the most effective way to find it is to review the campaign after it’s complete. 

At TIV we always look at the campaign after it’s complete. But it’s surprising how many clients don’t want to participate in that step in the process unless the results of the campaign were not as good as expected. Sure, that’s important, but arguably review of a successful campaign is just as essential.

Brandt Hoekenga is the Founder and Creative Director for TIV Branding

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

TIV Branding is a boutique branding firm in Sonoma County, California. We specialize in building brands by using traditional, social and digital channels in unison. If you would like to discuss a project or find out more about how we do what we do, please email us at info@TIVbranding.com.