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Using Trigger Systems For Multichannel Development

What’s a Trigger System, you may be wondering? Don’t worry, you didn’t fall asleep during that webinar -- we kind of made it up.

A Trigger System is a marketing and communications plan that’s in place before you ever need it. Trigger Systems can be created for any recurring event.

As soon as you know the event is coming, you have a clear set of marketing and PR marching orders that get “triggered.” This could include press releases, updated brochures, targeted social and PPC ad campaigns, blog posts, social media posts -- whatever needs to get done to maximize the reach of your campaign across multiple channels.

When you set up a Trigger System, all the basic planning is done, so you can put all your energy into crafting creative executions that cut through the noise and force people to actually listen. Below, we’ve outlined examples of how you can use Trigger Systems in three very different situations.

Maximizing a retail campaign. With the flexibility of Trigger Systems, you can create plans for each different type of campaign that your company runs. That means that whether it’s a weekly deal, a last-minute liquidation event or a seasonal blowout, you always have a road map for success already in place.

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Depending on the scope of your campaign, your Trigger System could include a sale landing page and banners for your own website; email blasts; social media posts and ads across all platforms; remarketing ads; or securing mentions, links or guest posts on deal blogs and websites.

Standing out at trade shows. Let’s be honest: Trade shows are all about differentiating yourself from the crowd. So, you should go into every show with a dynamite plan for developing a booth that people want to visit.

This starts, of course, with compelling creative ideas — but even more important is how you put those ideas out into the world. Creating a Trigger System for each type of show that you attend allows you to reach your audience with the least amount of stress. Trade show Trigger Systems might include a stellar new booth design and updated marketing collateral and swag; updating your website with a landing page, redirected banners and a calendar posting with RSVP info; press releases; email invitations; and ad buys in the trade show’s program and website.

Product release. You only get one chance for a first impression, so when you’re releasing a new product, you want to make sure that you do it right! And if your company is constantly releasing new products, that’s all the more reason to create a replicable system for getting the word out. In this situation, you can create a multitiered Trigger System that includes the naming and branding of the new product, as well as the initial release campaign and the general marketing.

Trigger Systems are flexible enough that they can be applied to a small, time-bound campaign or to situations that require the coordination of multiple departments and months of planning and development.

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