3 Brands Using the Right Marketing Mix

When it comes to marketing, promotion is as important as the product itself.

Today's marketers, however, walk a fine line between helpfulness and annoyance, as myriad marketing channels mean consumers may see a promotion several times, even in a matter of minutes. With all the promotional channels available - website, email, advertising, social and more - brands must find the "right" marketing mix for them. Here are three brands doing just that:

Starbucks

Less may be more in many industries - makeup and jewelry might be two - but when it comes to branded material, brands want to maximize their reach in order to get the most return from their efforts. This is especially true when a company uses more than 50 filmmakers and photographers (combined) to capture the day in the life of a Starbucks in 59 different stores in 28 countries.

Starbucks did this for its campaign, "Meet me at Starbucks," for a new documentary-type campaign, which it promoted heavily on all of its digital networks, including its website, social sites and advertising on third-party sites. Here's just a taste of Starbucks marketing mix for its new campaign (watch it here):

Starbucks.com

USAToday.com

Google+

Twitter

Facebook

YouTube

Nordstrom

Millennials are more likely than any other demographic to share pictures of products on social media, and Nordstrom leveraged this know-how by asking its customers to share the products they got with Nordstorm's yearly anniversary sale on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr using the hashtag #NSALE.

Nordstrom not only included a postcard-sized flier in the boxes that shoppers got with their anniversary sale items, but also encouraged the use of the #NSALE hashtag on all of its social network. Nordstorm followed up on the campaign's massive success with a Facebook album dedicated to its customers' best finds.

Heineken

Using some star power (Fred Armisen), Heineken launched a "Routine Interruptions" campaign which has all the makings of a campaign that has high engagement levels and lasting branding. Heineken filmed Armisen anonymously calling a payphone across the street from the Comedy Cellar in NYC. Those who were brave enough to answer the call and walk into the unknown were rewarded with an unique experience. All the usual distribution channels (social media, website, YouTube, etc.) were present and it was an enjoyable, interactive experience for customers. Like Starbucks, when a brand is spending a large marketing budget on videos like this, they'll want to distribute it to every channel possible. Both Heineken and Starbucks do a good job of tailoring the content to the specific channel, while staying on-brand and ensuring the marketing collateral looks similar.