Packing a punch in multichannel communications

Have you ever been told ‘the left hand should always know what the right hand is doing’? It’s become a kind of shorthand for the importance of working together as an efficient, effective unit.

While this mantra relates more to individual team members communicating and working effectively, it’s actually much the same when it comes to successful multichannel comms.

While each of the component channels has its own role, it’s their cumulative impact that leads to a genuine, behaviour-changing campaign - but only if they’re all rooted in the same, single-minded idea.

The last decade has seen an explosion of new agencies and offerings - from digital pharma agencies to dedicated social media outfits - to capitalise on a desire to be at the forefront of digital innovation. But it’s important to remember that these channels only work if they’re right for the brief (no matter how enticing they may seem) and are brought together seamlessly.

The danger otherwise is that a desire to use a specific channel drives the response to the brief, rather than the other way around. So I’d argue that the first step is to forget about channels entirely, focusing instead on who you need to reach and what you’re trying to achieve. This only comes about through investment in a robust planning process that spans market, audience and brand, providing the critical insights you need to develop a creative platform. When done right, this process can throw up surprises and challenge any preconceptions.

Only when you genuinely understand these elements  is it time to introduce your channel experts and start to look at the right mix. By starting with a more channel-neutral approach, you invariably create a better, more creatively robust and integrated multichannel campaign in the long run.

So in today’s world, it’s probably less the case that the left hand needs to know what the right hand is doing. It’s more that the hands, feet, arms and legs all need to work together, led by a very single-minded brain that’s grounded in good and effective planning.

Paul Hutchings is associate director at Pegasus