While sticking to a marketing campaign that’s running smoothly might seem like a safe bet, in the fast-evolving world of marketing you don’t want to be caught off guard when things quickly change. Running on auto-pilot can be risky and regularly refreshing your marketing communication tactics is essential to staying relevant, engaging your audience and ensuring long-term success.
Personalized but Not Re-Freshed
As the fall campaigns roll out I’ve already received two “thank you” emails that are exact duplicates of the ones I received last Spring AND last fall. While it can be tricky to personalize and automate content, using small building blocks of content along with AI to stitch them together will enable teams to scale with relevance. Teams need to create for example 10-15 variations of thank you emails so that content isn’t feeling generic or stale if donors give multiple times (e.g. I give to 3-4 participants within a fundraising event).
Not Adapting to Market Changes
Never assume that what worked well last year will resonate as effectively today without questioning what has changed. The marketing landscape is in constant flux due to shifting consumer preferences, emerging technologies, current media topics and evolving industry trends. Teams need to carefully review the campaign tactics to ensure their messaging stays aligned with trends and audience expectations.
Teams also need to assume last year’s campaign will not stay ahead of competitors. A proactive rethink helps teams consider what competitive reactions they may see and how they can best retain market share in a crowded space.
Avoiding Message Fatigue While Balancing Brand Consistency
Even if a campaign is performing well it can be difficult to know when it should “expire” as audiences can experience message fatigue if they are repeatedly exposed to the same content. Teams working on multi-year campaigns can plan for multiple versions that are on-brand but offer slight variations to keep audiences interested. And campaigns like the multi-year “Sick Kids” fundraising campaigns utilize the same marketing strategy, while introducing new ways to communicate and experience the formats and channels. This can help reinvigorate interest and maintain your target audiences attention.
Leveraging Data and Feedback
Marketing analytics and audience feedback provide valuable insights into how a campaign is performing – but it’s always in hindsight. Relying solely on a static approach may also cause you to miss opportunities for improvement. While teams may feel they regularly review data to fine-tune tactics, optimize engagement and address any issues that surface, they may also want to consider some advance planning feedback tools to re-think how they can push the campaign to new heights in the upcoming rollout.
As your organization develops and grows, so too should your marketing tactics in order to sustain success. Refreshing and revisiting your approach not only helps in showcasing your brand but also reinforces your commitment to authentically communicate and engage with your audience.
