Brand infiltration
Brand infiltration is a marketing practice that takes a specific approach to strategy, creativity and success tracking, where all three are driven by a thorough understanding of the business objective at hand. Brand infiltration insists that the organizational design of the marketing agency includes a team with broad skills, but that each staff member has creative and strategic leanings.
Strategic focus[edit]
The strategy behind a brand infiltration campaign is largely based on the business objective for a particular product/statement, and is intended to be media-agnostic. The business objective must include a specific sales target and a specific demographic target.[1] As the product details are discussed, an agency can make suggestions, based on research, for a suitable demographic if need be.
Research is undertaken to capture the most up-to-date information on the target demographic: what media the demographic has adopted; how similar, competing or complementary products are being marketed to this group; what interests appeal to the demographic, etc. In addition to classic research methods, brand infiltration requires a strong understanding of consumer behavior in online media, and uses tools of digital ethnography and social media monitoring to develop early insights into the potential value proposition.[2]
An overall strategy is developed based on meeting the needs outlined in the business objective and the values of the intended demographic.
Creative focus[edit]
Brand infiltration suggests that the agency’s corporate culture values creative and integrated thinking[3] from all personnel. This means that every team member, regardless of department, is fully briefed and included in creative development as well as the strategy. Brand infiltration requires that everyone working on a project is completely educated on the brand in question and can always answer whether the aspect they are personally working on will meet the business objective and will bring value to the demographic.
An agency that practices brand infiltration is open to implementing an unlimited array of media to get the brand / product / purchasing message to the intended audience. The media chosen will be carefully determined by a research and business objective-based strategy and can include an integrated blend of marketing techniques, including above the line and below the line advertising methods[clarification needed]. This is the opposite of an agency that specialises in a particular promotional tactic (e.g. mobile marketing). The objective of brand infiltration is to focus on overall communications strategy and execution, rather than on a single tactic.
Metrics and sales focus[edit]
While it is standard for all marketing and advertising agencies to track the number of hits or impressions that are gathered during a campaign, brand infiltration works to gather further data that shows how the original business objectives (sales among a set demographic) have been met.
A dedication to analytic and customized tracking tools are built into every brand infiltration campaign in order to find the most complete return on investment (ROI) numbers possible.
Benefit to the client[edit]
Companies that choose to work with an agency that practices brand infiltration need not go to several specialist agencies to run a full campaign. Instead, a brand infiltration agency works with the client to select specific and customized marketing tactics, all managed through the one agency. This can save the client a great deal of time and energy, but furthermore, consistency in strategy and messaging is much more likely to stay intact.
Costs are generally lower through brand infiltration agencies, as an entire campaign can be serviced through one account team, rather than several. The agency will also choose the most effective methods to meet the client’s sales objectives.
See also[edit]
- Below the line advertising
- Buzz marketing
- Cause marketing
- Guerilla marketing
- Integrated marketing
- Mass media
- Mobile marketing
- Return on Investment (ROI)
- Social media marketing
- Word of mouth marketing
References[edit]
- ↑ The Strategic Marketing Plan Audit, Cambridge Strategy Publications, p. 27. ISBN 978-1-902433-99-8
- ↑ Brand Week: TOP OF MIND: Eavesdrop. It's Good For Your Brand
- ↑ Martin, Roger L. (2007), Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking, Harvard Business Publishing
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