I wrote this last year. It was originally published in June 2009. Looking around, it’s as relevant now as it was then…



The Integration debate just won’t go away. Agencies, clients and media owners continually trumpet their definition of integration, how they are best placed to deliver it and why they should lead the process.  Although this topic has been debated for a number of years, there is still no universally accepted definition of what it is or how best to make it happen.

In our increasingly complex world, delivering an effective communications plan is mandatory, but our industry is not naturally set up to deliver it; in fact, the marketing industry is more fragmented than ever. The separation of media and creative is only part of the problem – the increasingly complex media landscape has given birth to an expanding range of specialists whose expertise resides in an increasing number of knowledge silos. A case in point is digital media which has become a complex industry in its own right. Unfortunately for us, consumers don’t think in fragmented platforms; they build their perception of a brand by the total sum of their exposure – when, where and with whom they consume it and everything they see and hear about it.

A practical and forward looking solution to integration offered by agencies is to internally restructure, fusing traditional and new disciplines and skill sets into integrated teams.  This is a commendable step that will improve the degree of joined-up thinking in their work but it cannot help with structural issues at other agencies they may work with or help to resolve the significant challenges faced by many clients who often work within siloed structures, with fragmented budget ownership and objectives. Other integration debates have mainly centered on the stimulus or how we marry the “big communications idea” and relevant media channels. Some argue that integration should focus on the more fundamental challenge of response – understanding how the communications idea stirs consumers. Others argue that these debates have incorrectly focused on brand and channel integration rather than the ultimate ambition – brand and consumer integration.

All these definitions are valid opinions which are logical and often passionately argued, but not one of them provide a roadmap to actually deliver an integrated communications plan.

Put simply, successfully integrated communications deliver a coherent outcome – the target audience sees one campaign with elements that are clearly designed to work together.  Sometimes the activity may follow a common creative theme executed across different media channels, on other occasions different elements may bear little creative resemblance. Whatever form the activity takes, one thing is constant – a multi-discipline team working  together toward this common goal. Sounds simple, so why is it still the exception rather than the rule?

The structural issues are only part of the problem, we believe that successful integration is also a mental issue – we all need the right mindset to make it happen.

Although our industry has structural and political issues to overcome, it is crucial that we don’t forget the role of the consumer in the process. The engines of integration are not the architects of the plan but the consumer who pulls all the pieces together. Consumers are natural integrators; it is our remit to help them navigate between the different channels and elements of the communication and, in the best examples, allow them to co-create communication.

At MPG, we believe there are four key elements to delivering successful integrated communications:

Collaboration – a Client should assemble multi-skilled individuals they respect and who they perceive will add value. Insight is precious but inspiration is priceless.

Leadership – decision by committee is a recipe for failure. The client must appoint a lead to make final strategic decisions. Disagreement and debate is good, but someone has to make the final call.

Think big and act selflessly – Integration demands ego free idea sharing and collaboration. Inter-agency politics must be eradicated.  Every member of the integrated team is equal; no-one owns an idea. It is the teams responsibility to nurture the idea and deliver it is the most powerful and effective way.

Fair reward – Too many remuneration packages are commission based and linked to media spend, which can encourage biased media recommendations. All members of an integrated team should be paid fairly for their time.

With these elements in place, integration can and will happen. The current launch campaign for Magners Pear Cider that incorporated TV, out-of-home, radio sponsorship, online, mobile, e-crm and sampling was created, nurtured and delivered by a truly integrated team – MPG, Euro RSCG and Cake with the Client at the heart.

Perhaps we should be less obsessed about the Holy Grail of one “big idea” and spend more time delivering lots of brilliant pieces of communication to see which ones are embraced by consumers. We should strive to deliver ideas that inform and/or entertain consumers, creating things that people value rather than what we think they should value.

Consumers have always driven change, now they are turbo-charging it. Media channels from TV, press, outdoor, radio, DM have already evolved; even using these legacy terms is out-dated. TV is just a distribution channel for audio/video content and ‘audio’ is a more relevant than ‘radio’. The success of Last FM and Spotify show that consumers are more than happy to access their content from a multitude of places. Consumers are truly platform agnostic.

The industry has been slow to change and most agencies in town still remain structured for yesterday. At MPG we have restructured the Agency to position ourselves for now and the future, but this is just the first stage to achieving true integration. Integration is a philosophy and a culture.  We have invested in resources to deliver the full suite of services including sponsorship, branded content, mobile and brand partnership. With Artemis, we have a bespoke system to measure how different combinations of media and messages effect consumer behavior such as response or attitudinal shift. We are truly collaborative; all our people are empowered to think and do. We encourage debate and we share our learning. We nurture our talent to become rounded multimedia consultants, ready to craft integrated communications solutions that deliver our ultimate goal – engaging consumers to grow our clients businesses.

Make no mistake, integration is no longer a nice to do, it is now critical to success. But it is more than a seating plan – it’s a state of mind.