What is integration?

Gareth Kay at Brand New has been invited to sit on the panel at the Future Marketing Summit and this year the theme is integration. Gareth argues that integration is a false concept and instead it’s a label that is used to describe how different media interact with each other.

“There is a big difference between things that are complicated and things that are complex. As he explains, an airplane is complicated – you can break it down into its parts and then build it up again – whereas mayonnaise is complex – it’s ingredients become something interwoven and quite different through their interaction and cannot be separated to its initial ingredients.

“Most (if not all) of our measurement of ‘integrated’ ideas assume they are complicated – we can measure the individual channels and their contribution to the net result (and therefore optimize the mix). But isn’t this wrong? If these ideas are interactive in nature then aren’t we talking about a complex entity, not a complicated one. And, if we are, shouldn’t we just be looking at the overall impact on the brand rather than trying to crack the nut into bits? ”

Integration is a pretty hot topic so it would be great to hear what IF! readers think about it in the comments.