Not surprisingly, Steve Randazzo, president of field marketing agency Pro Motion, is bullish on face-to-face interaction. “It provides so much more depth than something like social media can,” he says. Randazzo predicts experiential event-led efforts will continue to be in demand, “simply because there’s now less opportunity to be face-to-face.” But for such campaigns to succeed, he says, integration with PR and marketing functions are key. “We all have to play well together in the sandbox,” he says. Here are Randazzo’s key steps to enabling such collaboration:
• Integrate functions early in the planning process
• Be sure the strategy is consistent across all campaign stakeholders
• Integrate creative elements throughout
• Allow consistent messaging at all points of contact
• Clear cross-discipline communication; have one lead agency
• Hire specialists who will add value
• Map the complete process and experience
• Establish tracking and reporting benchmarks and expectations
• Allow for time to do media training of field teams
Read about how CNN PR and marketing teams hitch election ratings with Pro Motion's help.