Digital Marketing

Module Planning Integrated Digital Marketing Campaigns

Session No. I

Version 1.0
 Digital Marketing

Material from the published or unpublished work of others which is referred to in the Class
Notes is credited to the author in question in the text. The Class Notes prepared is of 6,773
words in length. Research ethics issues have been considered and handled appropriately
within the Globsyn Business School guidelines and procedures.

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Table of Contents
1. Public Relations and Digital Marketing ................................................................. 6

1.1. Understanding Public Relations ......................................................................... 6

1.2. Press Releases .................................................................................................. 7

1.2.1. Overview............................................................................................................... 7

1.2.2. Significance of Press Releases ............................................................................. 7

1.2.3. Objectives for generating Press Releases ............................................................ 7

1.2.4. Types of Press Releases ...................................................................................... 8

1.2.5. Writing a Press Release ....................................................................................... 8

1.2.6. Using pictures in Press Releases.......................................................................... 9

1.2.7. Carrying out Press Interviews ............................................................................... 9

1.3. Reputation Management .................................................................................. 10

1.3.1. Paid Media ...........................................................................................................11

1.3.2. Earned Media ......................................................................................................12

1.3.3. Shared Media ......................................................................................................12

1.3.4. Owned Media.......................................................................................................12

1.3.5. Deciding on Online Reputation ............................................................................13

1.3.6. Assessment of Online Reputation ........................................................................14

1.3.7. Crafting of a Social Media Policy..........................................................................14

1.3.8. Designing of an effective Social Media oriented Content Strategy .......................15

1.3.9. Reputation Management through generation of Blog Posts .................................15

1.4. Generating Buzz .............................................................................................. 15

1.5. Application of User-Generated Reviews .......................................................... 16

2. Strategies undertaken for Defensive Marketing................................................. 16

3. Responsive Marketing .......................................................................................... 17

4. Blogging for Promoting the Brand ...................................................................... 18

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4.1. Focusing on the customers .............................................................................. 18

4.2. Planning of the contents ................................................................................... 18

4.3. Enhancing on the contents ............................................................................... 18

4.4. Frequency of generation .................................................................................. 18

4.5. Informal writing approach ................................................................................. 19

4.6. Word count of blogs ......................................................................................... 19

4.7. Encouraging interaction and sharing ................................................................ 19

5. Word-of-Mouth Tool ............................................................................................. 19

6. Case Studies of Integrated Digital Marketing Campaigns ................................ 21

6.1. Integrated Marketing Strategy of Porsche ........................................................ 21

6.2. Integrated Digital Marketing Strategy of Field Museum, Chicago..................... 22

6.3. #LikeAGirl Campaign of ‘Always’ ..................................................................... 22

6.4. ‘Transfarency’ Campaign of Southwest Airlines ............................................... 23

7. Planning of an Integrated Digital Marketing Campaign ..................................... 24

7.1. Understanding of Target Audiences ................................................................. 24

7.2. Selection of Channels ...................................................................................... 24

7.3. Maintaining of Consistencies............................................................................ 24

7.4. Creation of Quality Contents ............................................................................ 24

7.5. Delivering the message in an Uniform Fashion ................................................ 25

7.6. Streamlining of Team Efforts ............................................................................ 25

7.7. Gaining Feedbacks for further Improvement .................................................... 25

References ................................................................................................................... 26

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List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Monitoring of Online Media .....................................................................................11
Figure 1.2: Different types of Media Platforms ..........................................................................13
Figure 5.1: Reasons for happening of Word of Mouth ...............................................................20

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1. Public Relations and Digital Marketing

1.1. Understanding Public Relations

Public Relations Society of America defined Public Relations as a strategic process of carrying
out communication for building of effective relationships between stakeholders like the business
institution and the masses. Public Relations activities ideally focus on both influencing and also
engaging key stakeholders across different platforms. PR activities also focus in building
potential relationships between the stakeholders for enhancing the perception of the masses
towards the organisation (PRSA, 2019).

Public Relations when viewed from the perspective of a management function tends to
encompass the following features:
 Anticipation, analysis and also interpretation of public opinion, issues and attitudes that
tend to either favourably or non-favourably impact the operational potential and business
plans of the business institution.
 Counselling the management body of the organisation involved along different levels
regarding policy decisions, the way of their dealing with the society and finally regarding
the social responsibilities of the firm.
 Public Relations activity also centres in both protecting and enhancing the reputation of
the brand and the firm as a whole. The same is carried out through the generation of
quality press releases that are circulated based on use of different types of media
platforms (PRSA, 2019).
 Carrying out research activities and also evaluation of existing programs and activities
on a continual basis. It also aims at evaluating of communication programs for helping in
both informing and making the masses understand the aims and objectives of the
business institution.
 Focusing on both planning and also in implementing the efforts undertaken by the
organisation regarding changing of public policies.
 Focusing on the development of contents and thereby in supervising them for driving
and generating customer engagement and also effective sales leads.
 Assisting and guiding the implementation of policies associated with carrying out
recruitment and training functions for development of effective teams (PRSA, 2019).

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1.2. Press Releases

1.2.1. Overview
Press Releases are identified as written form of communications that provides specific but short
information associated to different types of events that influence an organisation to a
considerable extent. Press Releases are made accessible to the public in terms of circulating
the same through the application of different types of media. The media focuses on highlighting
such press releases that potentially interest the readers while also generate needed information
to the society. The most interesting press releases are both selected and published by bloggers
and also along different social media platforms.

1.2.2. Significance of Press Releases

In the current era, press releases tend to occupy a significant place regards to the meeting of
objectives concerning digital marketing. The digital marketers essentially focus on publishing the
contents along online sites like that of Yahoo and Google News. The application of RSS Feeds
makes it possible for syndicating of news and other press releases. The digital marketing
communities uses wire services like that of Business, Market and PR Wire for generating
different types of contents along the diverse search engines. Different types of marketing
initiatives can be undertaken associated with carrying out press releases (Diamond, 2019). The
selection and publication of press releases by major domains like Forbes encourages the
sharing of the links on the website for driving considerable amount of web traffic. Likewise, call-
to-action or CTA buttons can be installed along the press releases for redirecting the web traffic
to landing pages. The same encourage customers in undertaking of free trials of new product
launches. The press releases can also be synced to the potential websites for highlighting of
effective contents that have already generated needed market hype. The same would thus help
in driving increased web traffic for viewing of the contents published (Diamond, 2019).

1.2.3. Objectives for generating Press Releases

The main objectives for which Press Releases are carried out are enumerated as follows:
 To focus on letting the media get associated with an event or issue such that the
information regarding such can be passed along to concerned parties.
 To help the media and the market gain needed knowledge and information concerning
the business carried out by the firm.
 To promote the business and also in cultivating an effective online presence based on
the incorporation of different types of media and websites.

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1.2.4. Types of Press Releases

Press Releases are essentially categorised into two main types:
a. Press Releases that are immediately released – The information in these press releases
are made public just after their publication.
b. Press Releases released after a certain period of time – The information in these press
releases are offered to news channels, websites or even to blog owners for publication.

Free Press Releases are mainly used by firms that operate on a low-cost budget. These firms
tend to rely on such sites that contribute in releasing the presses at totally free of cost. The
digital marketer also requires time for publication of the press releases on the online platforms
(Guillory, 2014).

The digital marketers generate investments for taking the assistance of paid sites for carrying
out of press releases. Paid press releases sites like that of PRWeb are considered to be highly
potential for releasing of market oriented information. It bears effective linkage with news sites
like that of Google News and also USAToday. Further, the Paid Sites contribute in offering
additional features like that of video, hyperlinks, images and also other links associated to social
media platforms. The same helps the digital marketers in publishing the information along
diverse platforms (Guillory, 2014).

1.2.5. Writing a Press Release

Press Releases bear the name of the location and period from and when it is generated. The
press releases are required to be documented based on the use of third person. The
information shared based on the application of press releases needs to be compelling in nature
for capturing the attraction of target audiences. Riveting of information is carried out in terms of
incorporating announcements regarding product launches and other marketing promotions for
attracting target audiences (Wolfe, 2018). Likewise, the linking up of the press releases with
effective and trending sites contributes in grabbing the attention of the target audiences. The
press releases are also required to provide effective rendition of ideas and themes reflected by
known personalities (Wolfe, 2018).

The documentation of press releases is carried out for making the same brief, specific and
clear. Further, the headline of the press releases need to be designed in an ultra-compact
fashion. It needs to effectively highlight the topic or issue for which the discussion is carried out.
The body part of the press release needs to be written down like that of a news document. The
document needs to be saleable to a journalist and also to the reading communities (Wolfe,

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2018). The press releases that contain links to the websites and also business information
happens to become more significant to the readers (Wolfe, 2018).

1.2.6. Using pictures in Press Releases

Incorporation of images and other audio-visual elements in Press Releases contributes in
attracting the attention of the readers. The application of relevant pictures, videos, GIFs and
even logos ideally contribute in enhancing the visual appeal of the press releases to the
readers. The usage of large number of photographs, in the press releases, needs to be
restricted in that they do not overlap the textual contents. The publishers are required to abstain
from incorporating of copyrighted images. Use of copyrighted images affects the quality of the
PR Content and also invites litigation issues (Donda, 2019). The publishers are required to
purchase photographs from stock photos and use them while designing the press releases.
Finally, the publishers are also required to restrain from generation of bulk emails linked with
press releases that contain large number of audio-visual files. The press releases can be
published and issued digitally. The pictures and other audio-visual contents can be directly
captured from the posts made along social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. The
adding of live feeds with the Press Releases and also in posting them online enriches the
quality and positioning of the same (Donda, 2019).

1.2.7. Carrying out Press Interviews

Small and medium business entrepreneurs render increased significance to the aspect of
carrying out press coverages. The mode of handling a Press Interview is detailed as follows:
1.2.7.1. Before conducting the Interview
The business owners and managers need to carry out an effective planning and study
associated to different topics revolving around the research query. The business manager is
thereby required to carry out considerable amount of secondary research for generating needed
data associated with the research issue or topic under question (Fallon, 2015).

1.2.7.2. During conducting the Interview

While carrying out an interview, the business managers are required to understand and respond
to the queries of the interviewers or press reporters. While replying to the questions, the
interviewees are required to provide an anecdote or a story that ideally relates to the situation or
circumstances associated with the research issue. The incorporation of a story rightly
contributes in enhancing the quality of the article. The story not only reflects the personality of
the businessperson but also highlights the business or marketing issue linked to the press
release (Fallon, 2015). The businessmen are also required to restrain themselves from the

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using of technical or business jargons for it affects the understanding of the target audiences.
The business owner, the product manager or the brand representative is needed to generate a
succinct speech for providing quality information about the concerned brand. They are also
needed to pitch effective information about the concerned topic or issue to the target audiences
(Fallon, 2015).

1.2.7.3. After the Interview

On completion of the interview, the marketer or the business owner is required to greet the
reporters regarding the carrying out of the interview. The same helps in development of effective
relationships with the interviewers or reporters. Subsequently, the questions that are needed to
be followed up are required to be sorted out and highlighted. Generation of effective responses
to the follow-up queries contributes in developing relationships of the business people with the
reporters. It also helps in rendering value-additions to the information or facts rendered along
the article initially (Fallon, 2015). The press article thus produced are needed to be featured by
the digital marketer along diverse social media platforms for rendering greater accessibility of
the target audiences. Likewise, the practice of tagging the journalists or reporters is considered
to be an effective practice. It thus helps in flagging of information associated to new
opportunities along the digital platforms (Fallon, 2015).

1.3. Reputation Management

Reputation Management, associated to marketing along digital media platforms, is also referred
to as Online Reputation Management or ORM. It encompasses the acts of monitoring and
supervising the fashion in which the brand is referred or spoken about by concerned
stakeholders along diverse social media platforms. Similarly, the review carried out by ORM
also features the monitoring of the result pages linked with different search engines. Common
ORM techniques essentially encompass activities like the conducting of Public Relation
activities along the online interface and also in engaging social media platforms for enhancing
their presence (Somal, 2018).

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The different types of online or digital media that can be subjected for monitoring are illustrated
as under:
Figure 1.1: Monitoring of Online Media

Monitored Online Media

Traditional or Article
Mainstream Social Consumer Reviews of Collaborative
Networks Submission
Websites Review Sites Individuals Sites (Wikis)
Directories

Social
News Collaborative Independent User
Blogging
Research Discussion Generated Blogs
Bookmarkn Communities
Sites Forums Content
g Sites

(emarkable.ie, 2019)

The ORM activities are essentially carried out based on the involvement of four distinct
channels as indicated by the PESO Model. The PESO Model as it is referred to works based on
encompassing four different types of media like paid earned, shared and finally owned media.
The four different media outlined above are elucidated as follows:

1.3.1. Paid Media

The carrying out of the communications program associated to digital media requires the
incorporation of different types of paid media tools like advertising carried out on social media
platforms, email marketing and other aspects of sponsorship marketing activities. Likewise, the
designing of Facebook and LinkedIn Ads are also associated with paid media programs. Other
forms of Paid Media essentially include PPC Advertisings that are carried out based on the use
of Google AdWords and other types of sponsored posts carried out through the use of blogs.
The application of paid media is extensively used for generating greater access of the media to
the marketing and promotional messages, development of relationships with customers and
other partners and also for driving increased amount of web traffic.

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1.3.2. Earned Media

Earned media is associated with the engagement of newspapers, trade publications and other
types of media for publicising the name of the company and product or services brand to the
target consumers. The tangible offerings, generated based on the incorporation of earned
media, are associated with the generation of SEO articles. It contributes in generating higher
page ranks along the search engines for the brands (Dietrich, 2018). Earned media is potentially
employed for helping the firm to effectively compete with other firms. It also helps in mentioning,
sharing and also reposting of information associated with products and services brands.

1.3.3. Shared Media

Shared media in the form Facebook Live and also Instagram Stories are effectively incorporated
for enhancing the degree of consumer engagement. It also helps in terms of involving social
communities for talking over a specific issue or topic under question.

1.3.4. Owned Media

Finally, the owned media types that are used regards to the undertaking of ORM activities are
identified as websites or blogs owned by digital marketers and web publishers. The use of
owned media is encouraged in that the same helps in controlling the generation of the contents.
It thereby helps in formulating an effective story about the product/service or company brand
(Dietrich, 2018).

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The different types of media platforms that fall under the different categories are illustrated as
under:

Figure 1.2: Different types of Media Platforms

Publicity
Media Relations
Influencer Engagement
Blogger Relations
Responses to Detractors
Investor Relations
Detractors turned to Loyal
Influencer Relations
Earned Loyalists turned to
Media Advocate

Social Media

Incentive Paid Shared Facebook

Media Media Twitter

Affiliate
LinkedIn
Brand
Ambassadors Owned YouTube
Sponsored Media Pinterest
Content
Instagram
Native
Advertising

Content
Paid Media Creation from Experts
Partnerships
Facebook Sponsored Posts Employee and Customer Stories
Community Service
Sponsored Tweets & Cards User Generated Content
Co-Branding
Fan Acquisition Reviews
Lead Generation Brand Journalism

Webinars, Videos and Podcasts

(Dietrich, 2018)

The discussion further progresses in understanding the fashion in which the different marketing
channels can be employed for enhancing the reputation of the business over the online
platform. The different stages of ORM are outlined as follows:

1.3.5. Deciding on Online Reputation

The initial step associated with the employment of the digital channels for meeting the ORM
objectives is to understand the type of reputation the firm decides to build along a specific
period.

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1.3.6. Assessment of Online Reputation

Different types of tools are put into place, which ideally help in evaluating the potential of the
brand’s online presence or the reputation cultivated by the brand along the digital marketplace.
The tools are underlined as follows:

1.3.6.1. Brand Grader

Brand Grader as a tool ideally contributes in identifying the most effective blogs and also the
websites that have recently published the content within a period of 1 month and thereby
reflects mentions of different types of social sources.

1.3.6.2. Go Fish Digital

Go Fish Digital operates as a free tool that contributes in browsing along a range of large
numbers of complaint websites that thereby helps in gaining access to considerable numbers of
negative reviews. The employment of this tool thus serves in understanding of the different
types of negative feedbacks earned in an online fashion (Somal, 2018).

1.3.6.3. Mention
Mention acts as another effective online tool that duly serves in reflecting the total number of
mentions of the company and product/service brand made along different types of social
networks. It tracks information in terms of scanning around 1 billion sources that tends to
encompass different types of social media platforms, blogs and other web pages.

1.3.6.4. Google Alert

The application of Google Alert rightly helps in tracking of the publication of new types of digital
content that are published regards to the company, product/service brands(Somal, 2018).

1.3.7. Crafting of a Social Media Policy

A list of different steps is needed to be kept in mind for ideally designing an effective social
media policy for the brand. The steps are outlined as follows:
 A list of Do’s and Don’ts are required to be effectively outlined based on which the
posting activities of the staff members are required to be evaluated upon. The same
contributes in understanding the relevancy of the different posts rendered by the staff
members along the social networking platforms.
 The reputation of the brand needs to be effectively protected in terms of restraining the
public from the sharing of sensitive and confidential data with the masses at large.
 Harmful contents if any need to be rightly edited or deleted for protecting the reputation
of the brand(Somal, 2018).

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1.3.8. Designing of an effective Social Media oriented Content Strategy

The content strategy associated with the orientation of the social media platforms rightly focuses
on understanding the brands that needs to be focused upon, the range and the type of
keywords that are needed to be chosen and the degree of customisation involved with such for
writing the articles. It also focuses on choosing different types of media like incorporation of
videos, podcasts and also other platforms that are needed for both the creation and also the
implementation of the different types of contents.(Somal, 2018)

1.3.9. Reputation Management through generation of Blog Posts

Reputation management can be rightly enhanced based on the application of owned media like
blogs. The development of the blogs earns effectiveness based on the selection and
employment of the right asset of keywords that would not only help the blog articles gain higher
page rankings along the search engine pages but also contribute in driving increased amount of
web traffic to the different websites. Likewise, other features like:
a) development of attractive headlines based on the use of keywords mainly used by target
audiences for carrying out searches,
b) use of shorter and simpler sentence structures
c) inclusion of effective images and generation of shorter paragraphs all contribute to the
generation of quality blog articles (Somal, 2018).

1.4. Generating Buzz

Buzz marketing is identified as a technique used regards to viral marketing that focuses on
maximising the level of word-of-mouth marketing associated with a specific product or service
brand. The buzz is generated either in terms of carrying out a discussion among friends,
relatives and other social communities associated to the product or service brand and also
based on the incorporation of effective social media networks. Buzz marketing contributes in
operating as an extension to word-of-mouth marketing that potentially contributes in driving
increased awareness about the product or service brand in the larger market and thereby in
driving the growth of flow of online traffic to the concerned websites and contributing to
increased conversions and sales leads(Hennerberg, 2016).

The buzz marketing activity is carried out in an online fashion based on the incorporation of
influencers that even act as early adopters for the products and services. The influencers are
involved in sharing the experiences they have gained based on employing the like product or
service and effectively contribute in acting as conversation starters for the specific brands. The
influencers are observed to govern the online marketplace in terms of commanding an effective

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presence along diverse social media platforms and thereby in gaining considerable number of
followers. The opinions rendered by the influencers tend to in turn influence the minds of their
followers which in turn ideally help in generating increased awareness about the products or
services along the digital marketplace. Likewise, the application of celebrity endorsement for the
product or service brands are also undertaken by the digital marketers for potentially promoting
the brands amongst the target audiences (Hennerberg, 2016).

Buzz marketing strategies are implemented not only through the use of social media platforms
like Facebook and Twitter but also based on the incorporation of quality bloggers that would
help in the generation influential blogs. Buzz marketing is also concerned with the generation of
forums that ideally help in networking with online communities for the generation of buzzes for
marketing of products and services (Hennerberg, 2016).

1.5. Application of User-Generated Reviews

Reviews generated by users along review websites and other social media platforms ideally
contribute in understanding consumer perceptions regarding product and service brands. The
same is supplemented by reviews gained from different websites and other social media
networking platforms for carrying out of consumer surveys (Tsiotsou & Goldsmith, 2012).

Reviews posted by tourists along different travel websites ideally serve in providing quality
feedback to the customers. They also contribute in serving as potential word-of-mouth
messages that contribute in enhancing the visibility of the product/service brand along the
consumer market. The study of the customer reviews on an enhanced scale ideally help in the
formulation of innovative strategies for improving consumer experiences. It thereby helps in
customising the different types of product and service offerings (Tsiotsou & Goldsmith, 2012).

Reviews gained from tourists along travel review websites like that of TripAdvisor ideally help in
enhancing the quality of the service rendered. It would also contribute in the formulation of
effective strategies for retention and acquisition of customers as well as in enhancing the quality
of the packages (Tsiotsou & Goldsmith, 2012).

2. Strategies undertaken for Defensive Marketing

Defensive Marketing is outlined as an effective strategy that is undertaken by brands for both
protecting their reputation and also for retaining existing customers. The case of Facebook vs.
Google reflects the application of defensive strategies regards to digital marketing. The strategy
undertaken by Google in terms of generating ‘Circles’ or networks among users was

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counteracted by Facebook’s strategy of encouraging users in categorising friends based on the

parameters of relation and degree of interaction (Baughman, 2016). The defensive strategy was
further extended by Facebook for both ensuring and also enhancing the aspect of customer
loyalty. The absence of an effective defensive strategy in place turns fatal for companies in that
the same affects the bottom line of the firm (Baughman, 2016).

Different types of defensive strategies tend to emerge owing to the nature of their usage by the
firms. The defensive strategy undertaken by Google is identified as the ‘Self Attack’ strategy
where it continually focuses on producing new and innovative product solutions that tend to
make the existing products obsolete in nature. The innovative solutions rendered by Google in
turn enhances the degree of competition for other players within the target market. The other
players were noted to continually focus on competing against the products launched by Google
rather than working on innovating new product solutions. Another type of defensive strategy is
identified as the sleeping market strategy associated to the case of two rival firms, Tylenol and
Datril (Baughman, 2016). The move carried out by Datril for gaining over the market share of
Tylenol prompted the latter to respond in an effective fashion that made the apparently sleeping
market woke up in a jiffy. The above account contributed in helping Tylenol turn out to be a
market leader in the market. Likewise, the rivalry between the retail giants, Walmart and Tesco
reflects another case of defensive market strategy. Tesco prompted to work on a specific note in
terms of generating customised offers and promotions while also in slashing down previous
prices. The activities were carried out for both retaining customers and potentially countering the
rivalry generated by Walmart for gaining on its market share (Baughman, 2016).

3. Responsive Marketing
The main objective of Responsive Marketing is to enhance the level of customer satisfaction.
The increasing of customer satisfaction contributes in augmenting the level of customer loyalty
for the firm. Customer satisfaction can be rightly met in terms of encouraging the firms for
effectively responding to the queries and issues posted by the customers along the different
social networking platforms. The generation of adequate responses in a timely fashion along the
social networking platforms rightly reflects the consumer responsiveness of the firms and also
makes the consumers feel cared for (Hogan, 2014). Likewise, the firms are also required to
carry out effective monitoring of the feedbacks and comments rendered by the customers along
the diverse social networking platforms. An extensive study of the feedbacks would help the
firms in customising the product offerings and promotions for attracting and retaining the

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number of customers. Customisation of product and market offerings in turn enhances the level
of customer satisfaction and also contributes in driving of consumer loyalty (Hogan, 2014).

4. Blogging for Promoting the Brand

The generation of business blogs is considered as a potential cost-effective and effective tactic,
which is incorporated by the business institutions for promotion of the businesses to the mass
market. The creation of effective blogs potentially contributes in driving considerable amount of
consumer traffic to the websites and also contributes in boosting the sales of the industries.
Further, the creation of an effective blog also contributes in helping the business organisations
gain control over the market and also expand the company’s reach along newer territories and
consumer zones. The following are listed some of the essential tactics that are needed to be
rightly followed by the business institutions for generation of an effective blog (Sanusi, 2014).

4.1. Focusing on the customers

The blogs are needed to be developed for helping in providing quality information to the
customers. It helps in solving potential problems and also in providing new information about the
industry at large.

4.2. Planning of the contents

Regarding planning of the contents, the blog writers are required to ideally focus on the
incorporation of quality keywords that ideally contribute in enhancing the quality of the blog. The
use of the quality keywords also help the blog article gain higher page rankings along the
search engine pages. The keywords used for development of the contents are required to rightly
match the same used by customers for searching information regarding the brands (Sanusi,
2014).

4.3. Enhancing on the contents

The blog marketers are required to focus on enhancing the quality of the blogs in terms of
updating the contents with relevant information from contemporary sources. Likewise, the blog
marketers can also focus on driving consumer traffic in terms of incorporating rewards and other
offers for returning customers and visitors to the blogs for gathering of quality information.

4.4. Frequency of generation

The blogs are needed to be ideally generated at set frequencies like weekly or fortnightly in that
the same helps in creating consumer hypes for gaining access to new and quality information.

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However, the blog marketers are required to focus on maintaining needed consistency
regarding the frequency of generation of the blogs (Sanusi, 2014).

4.5. Informal writing approach

The writing style of the blogs is required to be informal in nature such that it highlights or reflects
the personality of the organisation. It also needs to bear a humanistic approach in appealing to
the concerned readers. The incorporation of a low sales pitch rightly encourages the growth of
visitor responses and engagement regards to the company thereby helping in driving needed
sales and conversions (Sanusi, 2014).

4.6. Word count of blogs

It is expected that the blogs written should not either be too long or short in nature. Thus,
incorporation of around 400 words is considered effective in nature for generation of quality
blogs.

4.7. Encouraging interaction and sharing

The blogs are required to be written and published in such a fashion as that which would help in
boosting considerable number of interactions from the readers in terms of comments,
feedbacks, replies and suggestions to the posts rendered. Likewise, the incorporation of buttons
associated to social media networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn
are also required to be carried out along the blog articles. The above process encourages the
same to be shared and made viral along the web for generation of greater viewership and
awareness (Sanusi, 2014).

5. Word-of-Mouth Tool
Word-of-Mouth identified as an effective tool in traditional marketing also finds its usage regards
to the undertaking of digital marketing activities. For word-of-mouth to happen a section of
people are needed to communicate about a specific issue while another section of people is
required to pay their attention for hearing and understanding about the issue spoken (i-scoop,
2016). The need or factors that prompt the people for both talking and listening in carrying out a
word-of-mouth exercise are outlined in the next page:

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Figure 5.1: Reasons for happening of Word of Mouth

(i-scoop, 2016)

Regards to business the carrying out of word-of-mouth (WoM) marketing campaigns can affect
the brand image of a product or service either in a positive or negative fashion. The undertaking
of WoM campaigns along social media and digital platforms tends to vehemently affect the
brands. The application of social media tends to make the WoM travel very speedily compared
to traditional platforms. The business institutions need to cultivate an effective presence along
the social media platforms in that the same contributes in actively meeting the objectives of
digital WoM campaigns. The business institutions are required to stay open to the conversations
and interactions carried out by prospective customers regarding experiences associated to the
using product and service brands (i-scoop, 2016). The companies in terms of understanding
and listening to the responses generated by the customers are ideally required in replying to
such for effectively fulfilling the objectives of mutual interaction. Further, the evaluation of the
word-of-mouth activities carried out by customers’ act as a data repository for the managers in
understanding consumer perceptions and expectations associated with the brands. The gaining
of information and data inputs regarding consumer needs and expectations encourage the firms
for formulating new product and promotional packages (i-scoop, 2016).

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From the viewpoint of social media, the WoM activities tend to incorporate other sub-categories
like buzz marketing, viral marketing, influencer marketing, blog marketing and likewise other
categories also. The WoM activities are carried out in terms of integrating the same with other
channels and varied forms of digital marketing while also including activities associated to email
marketing (i-scoop, 2016). The WoM marketing campaigns essentially operate based on the
premise that the purchasing decisions of individuals tend to be considerably influenced by the
recommendations and advices rendered by their colleagues, peers, group and community
members along with their families. Other than postings and reviews obtained based on social
media platforms the influence of bloggers regards to their speaking about a specific product or
service brand also contributes in significantly influencing the purchasing activity of the
consumers (i-scoop, 2016).

Word-of-Mouth is carried out as a distinct practice by the business institutions in that it serves
the following benefits:
 ‘Word-of-Mouth’ or WoM campaigns earn success in that are the same are formulated in
a customised fashion for ideally suiting the different social networking and digital
platforms that encourage the accessibility to prospective customers.
 Message and recommendations rendered by friends, relatives, colleagues and
community members associated to a specific product and services brands tend to bear
greater impact than advertisements in influencing the mind-set of the people for carrying
out purchasing and other activities. The categories of people referred here tend to act as
opinion leaders in that the customers focus on relying on the opinions rendered by them
for making of concerned purchases (i-scoop, 2016).

6. Case Studies of Integrated Digital Marketing Campaigns

Different case studies of Integrated Digital Marketing Campaigns are produced as under:

6.1. Integrated Marketing Strategy of Porsche

Porsche is mainly identified as a vehicle pertaining to the vintage era. However, Porsche
focuses on representing itself as a sports car so that the same can be demanded by young
people. For the same Porsche focuses, designing an effective Digital Marketing Campaign must
be carried out in an integrated fashion. The Integrated Digital Marketing Strategy is carried out
by Porsche based on the incorporation of the following points:

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 Creation of buzz feeds for the different types of pop-up events carried out in different
iconic locations like that of Soldier Field based in Chicago.
 Contents prepared especially for Smartphone users are circulated among affluent
customers based on sharing the same along Instagram platforms. The same is taken to
both generate adequate number of Instagram followers for the event and thereby drive
needed momentum for the event.
 Stories are activated and shared along social media platforms like that of Snapchat and
Instagram platforms regarding the experiences gained by customers from the activities
carried out by the racing team of Porsche.
 Generation of 360 degree Live Videos and other Visual Reality feeds associated to the
driving experience generated by Porsche (Quintana, 2018).

6.2. Integrated Digital Marketing Strategy of Field Museum, Chicago

The Field Museum based in Chicago carries out its marketing efforts in terms of integrating
different social media channels like incorporation of experiential platforms, activities of
influencers, application of social media platforms, digital display platforms and other video
sessions (Quintana, 2018). The Integrated Digital Marketing Campaign carried out by the
Chicago Field Museum is outlined as follows:
 Viral engagement is driven in terms of showing and sharing surprise locations along with
potential clues along social media platforms.
 Carrying out interactions based on the application of social media platforms while also in
generating stories based on the application of different social networking platforms like
that of Instagram and Snapchat.
 Involvement of paid digital media platforms including rich and potential advertising units
for enhancing the level of fun involved with the marketing activity.
 Capturing and featuring of funny videos associated with the interaction of the masses
with the different types of exhibits and also the featuring of 360 degree videos for
influencing the masses (Quintana, 2018).

6.3. #LikeAGirl Campaign of ‘Always’

‘Always’, operating as a care brand looking after the needs of the female consumers focuses on
targeting the Generation Y consumers. The company focused on formulating a digital marketing
campaign in an integrated fashion for effectively portraying female consumers as they undergo
a transition in terms of transforming from their puberty period to full grown women. The
campaign termed ‘like a girl’ was coined for empowering the female consumers during their

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transition times when they tend to show signs of declining confidence. The integrated digital
marketing campaign carried out by Always associated with the video, #LikeAGirl is outlined in
the following points:
 The film contributed in anchoring around 85 million views hailing from around 150
countries based on the publishing of such on the YouTube platform.
 The featuring of the video on YouTube contributed in changing the views of around 76
percent of the target audience regards to the transition period encountered by women.
 The campaign ideally contributed in generating global awareness about the transition
phase encountered by women and the need to empower them (Aurora University,
2017).

6.4. ‘Transfarency’ Campaign of Southwest Airlines

An integrated marketing campaign termed ‘Transfarency’ was introduced by Southwest Airlines.
The airline firm contributed in the designing of buzz marketing programs based on the
application of social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter that would effectively
demonstrate the customers tend to generate payment for events like checking of bags, changes
in flight and also regarding the generation of entertainment associated with the delivery of
snacks and drinks. The buzz campaign was carried out based on the incorporation of the social
networking platforms in terms of the following fashion:
 A hashtag, #FeesDontFly was created by the airlines company for comparing Southwest
Airlines with other airliners like that of Delta, United Spirit amongst others.
 A game termed as ‘Fee or Fake’ was also created that focuses on testing of the
knowledge base of the customers regarding surprising fees that they tend to encounter
with other airliners.
 A section termed as ‘Fee Hacker’ is also encompassed that reflects the fashion by which
customers can tend to avoid the fees encountered by them in association with other
airliners.
 Issuance of a signed letter termed, ‘Dear Southwest’ that boast the positioning of
Southwest as the only airliner based in United States that does not tend to charge fees
associated with events like checked bags and also change in flights(Aurora University,
2017).

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7. Planning of an Integrated Digital Marketing Campaign

A digital marketing strategy carried out in an integrated fashion focuses on the employment of
different types of digital channels. Each of the different channels is optimally used based on
their potentials thereby enhancing the overall effectiveness of the total strategy. The different
business institutions focus on designing digital marketing plans on a customised basis such that
the same contributes in ideally fulfilling the marketing objectives of the companies. An integrated
digital marketing campaign is effectively constituted based on the incorporation of the following
steps:
7.1. Understanding of Target Audiences
A clear understanding of the needs and expectations of the target audiences is needed for
developing an effective marketing campaign. The target audiences are required to be divided
based on demographic and psychographic parameters such that different attributes like age,
income level and locational parameters can be associated with consumer demographics while
the interest of the consumers and their behavioural characteristics are ideally associated with
the psychographic parameters of the individual.

7.2. Selection of Channels

The selection of effective digital channels is required to be carried out which would aptly help in
fulfilling the marketing objectives of the firm. Different types of digital channels like that of email,
social media platforms, search engines and also paid advertisements are present that leaves an
impact over the consumers along different stages of the purchasing process. The generation of
a digital marketing plan earns success in terms of the selection of the right assortment of digital
channels (Kingsnorth, 2019).

7.3. Maintaining of Consistencies

The identity of the firm or brand associated with the creation of the logo is needed to be carried
out in a consistent fashion along different types of channels such that it needs to deliver the
same type of message to a larger number of audiences spread over the target market. The
same type of graphics, colours, fonts and likewise other infographics are needed to be
effectively adopted in a coherent fashion for designing of an effective marketing campaign.

7.4. Creation of Quality Contents

Quality contents are needed to be created and designed based on the incorporation of three Cs
like clarity, compelling and finally consistency. The contents used in the generation of the
marketing campaigns must have clarity of understanding regards to the readers and for other

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interested communities. Likewise, the contents incorporated are required to be compelling in

nature regards to the degree of appeal generated towards the target audiences. Finally, the
font, colour and format used for designing of the different types of contents need to be
generated in a consistent fashion for meeting the digital marketing objectives of the firm
(Kingsnorth, 2019).

7.5. Delivering the message in an Uniform Fashion

The incorporation of considerable number of digital channels however does not imply the
rendering of different types of messages. Rather, the digital marketer is required to focus on the
incorporation of messages along different social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and
LinkedIn that needs to complement each other. The digital marketers are required to focus on
the incorporation of effective keywords and other key phrases that ideally match or tend to bear
relevance to the searches carried out by the target audiences.

7.6. Streamlining of Team Efforts

The efforts of the different teams involved in carrying out the digital marketing campaign needs
to be streamlined and synchronised for effectively contributing in the meeting of the brand’s
marketing objectives. Thus, in case of the designing of an effective landing page for a specific
website the SEO and the other designing teams are required to operate in a synchronised
fashion for generating of the desired landing page. The decision regarding layout of the landing
page along with the content part is required to be undertaken in a collaborative fashion for
reducing the emergence of conflicts and redundancies(Kingsnorth, 2019).

7.7. Gaining Feedbacks for further Improvement

It is observed that around five to seven impressions are required to happen for helping in
converting a prospective lead to a potential consumer. In cases, where a specific lead is
generated based on the application of a single medium/channel other channels can be rightly
incorporated for influencing the behaviour of the consumer. The performances of each of the
different channels need to be evaluated in terms of assessing its influence on changing or
governing the behaviour of the prospects and thereby in driving needed conversions and sales.
The analysis of the results gained thereof with needed feedback of the prospective customers
ideally contribute in adjusting the brand campaigns for meeting of the revised marketing
objectives (Kingsnorth, 2019).

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