How Great Marketing Is Like a Great Sports Team

To achieve optimal outcomes from your marketing campaigns, consider your channels as if they were members of a sports team. While each one—such as direct mail, email, or wide format—can be influential, their combined efforts will bring the best results. To make the most out of your multichannel approach, here are three steps to creating a great “team”!

1. Gear up! All your marketing channels represent your brand, so whether they are print or digital, as small as a mobile phone screen or as large as a billboard, they should still have a unified look. Think of it as wearing the same “team gear.” Even if it's not possible to maintain 100% color consistency between digital and print channels, you can achieve a unified brand look by ensuring that images, color schemes, and messaging match across the different platforms.

2. Put the right players in the correct positions. Sports teams have different positions for a reason. Sure, the NBA point guard can hit three-pointers all day long, but you’re not going to ask him to grab rebounds off the rim. For that, you want your 7’1” center with a 7-foot wingspan. So it is in marketing. Each channel has its strengths. Know these strengths and place each channel in the marketing line-up where the entire team will benefit most.

3. Play to the audience. Midwest NFL fans aren’t going to respond to the New England Patriots the same way they do the Minnesota Vikings. Likewise, not every demographic will respond the same way to every channel. For example, you’re not going to engage many retirees with text marketing. Plus, the mix is constantly changing. It used to be that only teenagers and college students used Facebook. Now they’ve moved to Snapchat and TikTok, and older demographics, businesses, and organizations use Facebook.

Want your multichannel marketing team to produce a championship-style win? Identify your marketing objectives, maintain brand consistency, and ensure each channel is in the right position to maximize its effectiveness for the team.

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