Crossmedia: Communicate perfectly in every direction

Cross-media communication is on everyone’s lips these days—but what exactly does it mean? Adis Merdzanovic, lecturer in communication and branding at the Institute for Marketing Management at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), explains: «Cross-media communication can be understood as consistent communication across various channels. Ideally, a campaign disseminates a central message through various channels tailored to the target audience. The content is coordinated across these channels but leverages the strengths of each individual channel. This ensures that the target audience actually engages with the content and that the content is aligned with the customer journey.» Implementing a true cross-media campaign is complex and typically resource-intensive, says Merdzanovic. It requires precise planning—both at the strategic and operational levels.

Every message must be tailored to the target audience

That is precisely why, in Switzerland, larger companies in particular rely on large-scale, sophisticated campaigns that, for example, coordinate mobile and social ads with newsletter and direct-mail campaigns. However, small and medium-sized companies also use cross-media strategies—albeit not to the same extent. «Today, it has actually become standard practice to develop a campaign not just for a single communication channel, but to run digital advertising campaigns with the same message alongside poster campaigns, for example,» explains Merdzanovic.

It is important to tailor every message to the target audience—in this respect, cross-media marketing does not fundamentally differ from traditional marketing. «Companies must have a clear understanding of their target audience and know which communication channels are best for reaching them,» Merdzanovic emphasizes. The campaign is then distributed through these channels, with the message tailored to each one. For example, customers would primarily expect interesting information from an email newsletter, whereas social media posts should also provide opportunities for interaction. «Instagram campaigns, for instance, often rely on user-generated content via specific hashtags, thereby actively involving the target audience in the campaign design,» says Merdzanovic.

Successful Collaboration

Goldbach is among the marketing agencies that recognized the relevance and impact of cross-media early on. To honor outstanding cross-media campaigns and promote this understanding of communication, Goldbach launched the Crossmedia Award in 2005. «We offer our clients 360-degree marketing as well as our own cross-channel advertising formats, thereby guaranteeing a secure and efficient market environment,» says Monika Heiniger, Senior Brand & Content Marketing Manager at the Goldbach Group. Effective cross-media communication is characterized by a clear central theme that is implemented in a manner appropriate to each medium across all channels used and intelligently connects the touchpoints. It is not the number of media used that is decisive, but rather their meaningful and effective integration.

It is important that the recipient can always trace the content back to the company and that the central pattern is recognizable.

As Heiniger explains, the winners of this year’s Goldbach Crossmedia Award demonstrate that cross-media campaigns really do work. «Above all, however, the jury was impressed by the innovative approaches and the outstanding cross-media engagement measures designed to reach end consumers and generate involvement,» Heiniger emphasizes. This was achieved, on the one hand, by tailoring the campaigns to the target audience and, on the other hand, by ensuring consistency across all communication measures, which led to the great success of the respective campaigns:

Gold: Runtime/Ochsner Sport (Thjnk Zurich)

An interactive cross-media campaign that playfully promotes Ochsner Sport’s expertise in the focus sport of «running»: with Runtime, the first podcast that only plays when you’re running. This cross-media integration propelled Runtime to the No. 1 spot among fitness and health apps in just 24 hours.

«The winning campaign for the 2022 Goldbach Crossmedia Award stood out for its innovation and originality. »The podcast that only plays when you run’ generated a high level of engagement between the target audience and the brand through an exciting gamification approach, which in turn led to significant sales growth for the client,” Heiniger explained, outlining the jury’s decision.

Silver: Chleiderchäschtli/Zalando (Jung von Matt Limmat)

Zalando’s cross-media anniversary campaign revolves around the «Chleiderchäschtli»—a neologism created as a tribute to the styles found in Swiss women’s and men’s wardrobes. With the song of the same name by Nemo & KT Gorique, the fashion giant was successfully transformed into a beloved national brand.

«For this campaign, the new word «Chleiderchäschtli» was coined and consistently integrated into all cross-media communications across all touchpoints. “The custom-created word, tailored to the company, and the song composed specifically for it fostered an emotional connection with the Zalando brand,” explains Heiniger.

Bronze: Share your Fire/Allianz Suisse (Sir Mary)

A cross-media campaign that allows Swiss sports fans to feel close to their idols despite social distancing. At its heart is an upcycled sportswear collection, handcrafted from the original, worn jerseys of Swiss star athletes. Integrated into a coordinated 360-degree strategy. «The «Share your Fire» campaign allowed Swiss sports fans to feel close to their athletic role models from all disciplines, despite social distancing and empty stadiums. “By owning an exclusive sports shirt from the handcrafted collection, the winners became proud brand ambassadors for Allianz,” Heiniger summarizes.

Conclusion

Heiniger’s conclusion: «If you cleverly link the various elements of a campaign, the synergy they create is greater than the sum of the individual communication activities.» This is what sets a good campaign apart—today and tomorrow.

REQUESTED

«Content must be informative, entertaining, or advisory»

Dr. Adis Merdzanovic, lecturer in communication and branding at ZHAW, on the effective use of cross-media.

m&k: Please explain the opportunities and risks of cross-media communication.

Adis Merdzanovic: Cross-media communication is a reality of our time. Digitalization makes it possible to stay connected at all times through a wide variety of channels. The major opportunity is that, thanks to this broader reach, the target audience actually notices the message. On the other hand, customers today are constantly bombarded with advertising, which reduces their attention span. Ad blockers are also widely used, particularly in the digital sphere. To use cross-media effectively, campaign content must be informative, entertaining, or advisory, and offer customers added value.

What should be kept in mind with regard to messages, content, and synergies?

As a general rule, cross-media campaigns should convey a central message through various forms of content that adapt to the individual channels like a chameleon. It is important that the audience can always trace the content back to the company and that the central theme is recognizable.

How will cross-media marketing evolve in the future?

Cross-media marketing will become more prevalent. With the advent of marketing automation, it has become easier to plan and coordinate campaigns across various platforms. Today, digital marketing initiatives can be planned and implemented without any IT expertise. As the relevant software continues to evolve, it is likely to become more cost-effective to carry out such campaigns. This will lead to increased competition for attention, and content will need to be tailored even more closely to specific target audiences in order to be successful. This will require specialized expertise, and marketing departments will have to decide whether to outsource these skills or develop them in-house.