Creating My First Integrated Ad Campaign

May 07, 2012 by Maggie Rose Regan, Intern | Bootcamp Lights

Launching an effective advertising campaign is an extensive process.

Now that I have selected Generation Wags as the organization that I will be launching a pro bono campaign for – what’s the next step?

Timing is key, and I don’t have a lot of it with my last day of classes on May 15th.

First and foremost, my objective is to learn as much as possible about the Generation Wags brand before heading back to the drawing board to finalize my first integrated ad campaign.

On Sunday afternoon I had the pleasure of meeting with Debby Hartten, Founder, Generation Wags.

We met at Bohrer Park at Summit Hall Farm in Gaithersburg, MD for the annual “Paws in the Park Dog Walk and Festival.” It was jam-packed with pet-friendly activities.

Every Mass Communications professor that I have had at Towson University, whether in a public relations or advertising course, has always stressed that it is extremely important to understand your client and their needs; you want to build a strong relationship with them.

As Debby and I walked around the “flea less” market, we passed over 50 pet-friendly vendors. With plenty of food and music this fun-filled afternoon gave me a glimpse into all of the remarkable work Generation Wags is doing for man’s best friend.

The second I saw Debby she embraced me in a huge hug and immediately asked how I was doing. It was as if we had been best friends for years.

Debby is extremely driven and passionate about helping animals. She has so many ideas, and it is apparent that she will stop at nothing to make sure that Generation Wags educates pet owners.

She and I chatted about the upcoming campaign, but couldn’t help interrupting with “oh look at that dog over there!” Debby and I hit it off solely based on our love of animals.

After cooing over big dogs dressed up in little scarves and fuzzy puppies being pulled around in a red wagon, we sat in the grass and discussed what would be the most important aspect to focus on for our campaign.

Debby and Generation Wags’ goals are as followed:

• Increase awareness that people need to be responsible pet owners to avoid rescue situations.
• Educate the community about the complex issues contributing to rescues.
• Engage the community in creating solutions for pet rescues.
• Increase involvement in the community including:
• Getting more volunteers to sign up.
• Increasing donations.
• Increasing pet adoptions.

I definitely have a lot of work to do. The most important (and most difficult) being streamlining a single focused message for the campaign. There are so many areas that could use my attention and so many goals that the company wishes to achieve.

Out of everything that Generation Wags needs, Debby stressed educating the community about the complex issues contributing to rescues as being the most important issue. We need to get engaged in creating solutions!

Now, we need to figure out the best way to execute this campaign. If you have any ideas or suggestions for me, please feel free to leave a comment below.

With your involvement we can make this a huge success!