Introduction

In this highly competitive environment and era of business digitalization, the effectiveness of marketing investments is especially important for companies. Among the strategic tools that help maximize the return on advertising investments is an integrated advertising campaigns (IAC), based on the very synergy of various marketing channels. Such an approach guarantees one single field of brand communication, besides contributing to the increase in consumer loyalty, extending the reach, and improving the impact of advertising messages. With the help of modern technologies, big data analytics, and personalized strategies, integrated campaigns allow for optimizing marketing expenses and achieving higher profitability.

The objective of this article is to analyze IAC as a tool for improving the profitability of marketing investments. The study explores the fundamental principles and methodological approaches to developing IAC, their impact on key marketing metrics, as well as practical case studies of successful implementation.

Main part. The concept of integrated marketing communications

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) represent a strategic approach to managing marketing messages, where various communication channels operate in sync to create a unified and consistent brand perception [1]. The core principle of IMC lies in combining both traditional and digital marketing tools – advertising, public relations (PR), content marketing, email marketing, social media, and other channels – to enhance the overall effectiveness of a campaign (fig. 1).

Figure 1. IMC tools

The power of IMC comes from driving better brand coherence and improving customer engagement while optimizing marketing expenditures. Enabling the optimization of spends redundant from overlapping sets of marketing communications activities, thus leveraging the impact that comes through various touch points across advertising [2]. In this regard, IMC boosts return on marketing investment (ROMI), targeting proper audiences, customization of messages for them, data analytics to create just the right quantum of real changes in the go-to campaigns, and performing those in real-time.

The concept of IMC began to take shape in the late 1980s and early 1990s when marketers recognized the necessity of coordinating advertising messages in a multichannel environment [3]. Before this period, marketing strategies were fragmented: companies used television and print advertising separately from PR campaigns, while direct sales and sales promotions existed independently with minimal interaction.

The development of IMC has evolved significantly over the past decades. In the 1990s, companies began integrating multiple communication channels to achieve more consistent branding, focusing on 360-degree marketing to engage consumers through various touchpoints such as advertising, events, promotions, and PR. The digital transformation of the 2000s accelerated the adoption of online channels, with the rise of social media, email marketing, and content marketing enabling real-time consumer interactions and personalized communication. Since the 2010s, IMC has been driven by hyper-personalization, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI), with brands increasingly using data-driven approaches to analyze audience behavior, create customized messages, and optimize strategies in real time through marketing automation, machine learning, and predictive analytics.

Principles of creating effective IAC

The creation of IAC requires a strategic and systematic approach that ensures the consistency of marketing messages, maximizes target audience reach, and optimizes the ROMI (fig. 2).

Figure 2. Principles of IMC

A successful integrated marketing campaign relies on five key principles. A unified brand message and creative concept ensure consistency across all communication channels while adapting to their specific formats. Cohesive visual and verbal elements enhance brand recognition and memorability. Synergy across communication channels allows seamless consumer interaction across platforms such as social media, websites, email, outdoor ads, and television. Coordinated omnichannel marketing enhances conversion rates and optimizes ad spend. Personalization and audience adaptation leverage big data and AI to analyze user behavior, segment audiences, and deliver dynamic, relevant content. Automated targeting increases engagement and message effectiveness. Interactivity and engagement encourage active user participation through gamification, challenges, user-generated content (UGC), and immersive VR/AR experiences, strengthening emotional connections with brands. Analytics and performance measurement track key metrics like ROMI, cost per action (CPA), click-through rates (CTR), and brand awareness. Real-time data analysis, A/B testing, and cross-channel attribution optimize campaign efficiency and budget allocation.

Comparative analysis of IMC channels

Various channels are encompassed within IMC, working in synergy to maximize audience reach and engagement. Each channel has its advantages, but their effectiveness significantly increases when used in combination. Some are designed for rapid attention capture (e.g., digital advertising), others for building trust (PR and content marketing), while some focus on customer retention and loyalty growth (email marketing, CRM). Table 1 presents the main IMC channels along with their characteristics.

Table 1

 Comparison of key IMC channels [4, 5]

The use of IMC allows for the optimization of marketing budgets, personalization of consumer interactions, and an increase in ROMI. However, what channels to choose and how to combine them are to be deduced in view of a specific business, target audience, and marketing objectives. Unlike the scattered marketing activities, IMC is aimed at creation of one seamless user experience, when every new contact with a brand complements previous one and overemphasizes key message of communication (table 2).

Table 2

 Comparison of traditional marketing campaigns and IMC

Hence, integrated promotional campaigns rely on an integral brand message, multi-channel interaction, personalized approach, audience engagement, and in-depth analytics. This all helps the brand build effectiveness in its marketing communications, where continuous growth of ROI is warranted, making competitive advantages sustainable over a longer time.

Impact of integrated campaigns on marketing investment profitability

In today’s competitive landscape, companies must maximize the efficiency of their advertising efforts. IMC significantly enhance ROMI by optimizing budget allocation, strengthening brand communication, and reducing costs. This approach boosts overall ad profitability by increasing conversion rates, lowering customer acquisition costs, and improving audience loyalty.

Higher ROMI is achieved through IMC by leveraging channel synergy, where each consumer interaction builds on the previous one, creating a seamless and logical customer journey. Encountering a brand across multiple touchpoints – such as social media ads, podcasts, email newsletters, and search results – enhances message retention and purchase likelihood. Personalization and audience segmentation, powered by big data and AI, further improve ad efficiency by delivering tailored messages, reducing wasted impressions, and increasing CTR, CPA, and retention rates (CRR).

Additionally, interactive engagement strategies such as gamification, UGC, social media challenges, and AR/VR experiences foster emotional connections, increasing customer lifetime value (CLV). Higher CLV directly benefits ROMI, as loyal customers require lower acquisition costs compared to new ones. Cross-channel analytics and marketing automation further enhance investment profitability by continuously optimizing campaign performance. Techniques like A/B testing, dynamic creative optimization (DCO), and AI-driven decision-making identify the most effective tactics and reallocate budgets to high-performing channels.

Thus, IMC plays a crucial role in improving ROMI by increasing communication efficiency, reducing marketing costs, and boosting conversion rates. A combination of multichannel strategies, personalization, interactivity, and real-time analytics enables businesses to not only optimize their budgets but also build lasting competitive advantages in the market.

Practical cases of successful integrated campaigns

Unlike traditional marketing strategies that rely on fragmented communication channels, integrated campaigns create a unified advertising message, engaging customers across multiple platforms [6]. Many companies successfully use this approach to achieve significant sales growth and increased audience engagement.

One notable example is Coca-Cola’s «Share a Coke» campaign. The brand personalized its packaging by replacing the logo with popular names, encouraging consumers to share photos of their bottles on social media [7]. The campaign reached 80 countries and increased sales in the USA by 2%, marking the first growth in 10 years. In its first year, more than 500,000 user-generated posts with the hashtag #ShareaCoke appeared on social media. Digital advertising and social media were integrated with TV commercials and offline activations, creating a strong synergistic effect. This case became a prime example of successful omnichannel marketing and UGC, allowing the company to strengthen its emotional connection with consumers and boost sales.

Apple’s «Shot on iPhone» campaign demonstrated how UGC can effectively promote smartphone camera quality [8]. The brand integrated UGC into outdoor advertising, digital marketing, and social media, creating a unified ecosystem around UGC. The campaign reached 85 countries, and iPhone sales increased by 4,6% in the quarter following its launch. On social media, the campaign generated over 70 million interactions (likes, comments, and shares). This campaign exemplified the successful integration of UGC and multichannel marketing, significantly enhancing audience engagement and reinforcing the iPhone’s reputation as a device for professional mobile photography.

In 2024, Nike launched an integrated marketing campaign aligned with the Summer Olympics, leading to a significant surge in brand interest. The campaign included multiple key initiatives: the brand released a series of emotional video ads featuring well-known Olympic athletes sharing their journeys of overcoming obstacles to achieve victory. These videos were distributed across social media platforms, generating over 200 million views within the first two weeks. Additionally, Nike launched interactive pop-up stores in Paris, Los Angeles, and Tokyo, where visitors could test a new collection made from recycled materials. The company also introduced personalized sneakers, available exclusively through the Nike mobile app, which stimulated downloads and user engagement.

According to Similarweb, in the first week of the Olympics, Nike.com received 2 million visits, with 86,900 resulting in purchases. In comparison, the Adidas website attracted 532,500 visitors, but only 3,600 completed a purchase.

Methodological approach to developing an integrated advertising campaign

The development of an IAC requires a comprehensive approach, including audience analysis, strategic planning of communication channels, and optimization of advertising messages. Unlike traditional marketing campaigns, integrated strategies create a unified interaction ecosystem where each element enhances the others. A successful IAC follows a structured methodology comprising research, planning, creative development, implementation, and analytical evaluation of effectiveness.

The first stage involves studying the target audience and competitive landscape. Marketing analytics enables consumer segmentation, identification of preferences, and prediction of responses to advertising messages. Big data and predictive analytics play a crucial role in ensuring precise targeting. Analyzing competitors’ strategies helps create a differentiated approach and determine effective advertising tactics.

Based on these insights, a campaign concept is developed with clear marketing objectives and key messages. A critical stage is selecting communication channels, including traditional (TV, outdoor advertising) and digital tools (social media, email marketing, content marketing). An omnichannel approach ensures channel synergy and brand communication consistency.

Creative development plays a key role in audience engagement. The use of personalized messages, interactive mechanics, and DCO enhances campaign effectiveness. Originality and emotional appeal help strengthen audience response.

The implementation stage requires precise coordination of marketing activities, process automation, and programmatic advertising. Modern platforms (Google Marketing Platform, Meta Ads Manager, CRM systems) help manage budgets and optimize ad placements.

The final stage is the analytical evaluation of campaign effectiveness. Cross-channel analytics, A/B testing, and cohort analysis allow brands to measure the impact of each channel, identify successful tactics, and adjust strategy in real-time.

Thus, an effective IAC is based on a comprehensive approach that integrates data, personalization, multichannel strategies, and analytics. This method not only increases ROMI but also strengthens the brand’s competitive positioning.

Conclusion

Finally, IAC serve as a strategic tool that enables companies to increase ROMI through a holistic approach to audience communication. Unlike fragmented marketing activities, integrated campaigns create synergy across multiple channels, delivering a seamless user experience and amplifying the impact of advertising messages. Modern technologies such as big data analysis, AI, and DCO not only allow brands to tailor their strategies to consumer behavior but also enhance engagement through personalized content. The omnichannel approach, incorporating digital tools, traditional media, PR, event marketing, and influencer marketing, enables the creation of large-scale advertising campaigns with high efficiency and audience reach.

The analysis of successful integrated campaigns confirms that a comprehensive approach to marketing communications contributes to sales growth, brand awareness enhancement, and audience loyalty formation. The key success factors include consistent brand messaging across all channels, UGC, interactive mechanics, and data-driven performance evaluation. Implementing integrated campaigns requires strategic planning, effective budget allocation, and continuous monitoring of key performance indicators (KPI). In a highly competitive market, companies that adopt IMC gain a significant competitive advantage, ensuring not only short-term sales growth but also long-term brand positioning and market leadership.