Campaigns can be a creative boost for a marketing department or even an agency working for a company. They’re a bit of a departure from the ordinary—a way to focus on one business objective, whether that’s increasing awareness of a specific product or service, highlighting a new location, getting people to sign up for a newsletter or any number of other goals your organization might have. Plus, campaigns are for a limited amount of time, so they don’t have to have the same evergreen permanence that other types of marketing should possess. They can live in the now.

Because of that, there can be a tendency to be a little looser with campaigns. In some ways, that thinking is good. After all, you want your audience to see your campaign as something that stands apart from your general brand marketing. However, there’s a real danger that comes with getting too laid-back with your campaigns: you could lose your brand almost entirely.

A Campaign That Lost Its Brand Footing
We recently ran across a campaign that demonstrated this trap for us. It’s for Montefiore Einstein, one of New York City’s main medical providers. The objective was to promote their cancer services. They did a wide-ranging multi-channel ad blitz that even included a 2.5-minute video that ran during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.

Here’s the good thing about the campaign: the approach is really unique. Not often do you see a health system use a gritty, authentic story to get across a message like early cancer detection. In all honesty, you rarely even see black and white, editorial-style imagery in healthcare ads. That kind of boldness and departure from the norm makes more people pay attention.

But here’s the problem (and it’s a big one): the campaign doesn’t feel like Montefiore. The visuals are different. The typography is different. Sure, if you are really attuned to the subtleties of the brand, you may notice there is some shared DNA, but certainly not enough to be noticed by the average onlooker. In addition to that, the promotion—which dives deep into the history of breakdancing—makes the connection between the subject matter and the health provider very convoluted. While the static ad works, the more complex parts of the campaign, like the 2.5-minute video and the website, don’t link the story back to the organization very well.

Have Your Campaign Accentuate Your Brand, Not Distract From It
While they’re “one-offs,” campaigns don’t exist on their own, and shouldn’t be treated as such. They’re a part of the brand, and they have to speak to that. A headline for a campaign can’t sound like it came from a different organization. The tone has to reflect the org. An image can’t be a 180° departure from the norm. It needs to fit within the brand’s parameters.

View your brand as your typical wardrobe. If you’re a traditional, sharp dresser, you might wear a dark suit, light shirt to formal events. But on a special occasion you may choose a particular tie or handkerchief that gives the overall look a little more oomph. Maybe it’s got a pattern or is a brighter color—it’s something special about your outfit, and something you won’t wear every day, but it still goes with the outfit. That’s a campaign that effectively stays within the brand.

On the other hand, if you were to pair your Brooks Brothers pinstripe with a sombrero, well, you’d get noticed, but not in the best way. That’s what throwing a campaign that has nothing to do with your brand feels like—a mismatch.

Want to make sure your campaign coordinates with your brand? Give The Brand Innovation Group a call and we’ll get it buttoned up for you.