Brave New World - Integrated Layered Marketing - Hit Your Target Right Between the Eyes

The world is ever-changing

The world is ever-changing. Yet, our history doesn't really provide us with the tools to deal with the kind of rapid change we now experience on a daily basis. From the first year A.D. until the early 1800's, the world changed - but very slowly. One generation lived pretty much like the last. Not until the industrial revolution did this trend of rapidly changing societies, technologies, mobility and wealth really take hold. Since the start of the industrial age, our lives have begun rolling at a break neck pace.

The world of marketing is no different. With the advent of the Internet, cell phones, and variable data techniques, marketing has transitioned from the subtle yet clever ad industry of the 1950s to the 24/7, everywhere you look, lifestyle of the new millennium.

I recently attended an event hosted by several Nashville based companies: Lithographics Inc., a high-end commercial printer; Emma, the web-based email marketing management company; iStockphoto, the Internet's original member-generated image and design community; FoldRite, the only dynamic, custom digital folding template creator for graphic arts professionals; and GossRSVP, a firm that helps advertisers turn print advertising into interactive advertising.

A refreshingly forward-thinking group of companies - and people - came together to show how their individual offers can be combined to create a powerhouse marketing strategy - how to, in effect, "Connect the Dots" of today's marketing tools.

They offered not only information on how each of their products worked, but with real world examples and ideas about how to bring these services together in order to take your marketing to the next level. The thought of layered, integrated marketing is exciting and scary too. It is a lot to think about, it can be overwhelming. Which is precisely why I appreciated this event; these five companies, each with a distinct purpose who decided that instead of trying to compete for clients, they would come together instead and enhance the services they provide by showing clients how this layered approach can work.

Even more than that, this informal consortium drove home the unmistakable point: The old ways of marketing, picking one avenue be it print, email or mobile, is simply not going to cut it in this new world. The most successful marketing campaigns will include all or most of these tools.

It all comes around to the same idea - if you want customers to find your product or service, you have to go where they are. Use to be, that you could advertise in the newspaper because most people read the paper, it was how they got their news. Or, you could advertise only on the most popular TV shows on one of the three major networks, because most people were watching one of those channels. Or, you could send out an email to a large yet targeting list and expect a decent return.

I would say most of these old ways no longer exist. Newspapers are disappearing as people now have a choice of hundreds of news outlets - the Internet, TV, mobile, etc. The average television viewer now has access to hundreds of channels, not to mention that with the advent of the digital video recorder, people are watching less commercials. And as for email, have you checked your inbox lately? Any emails not specifically requested usually end up in the spam folder or in the deleted file.

The myth is that people are now harder to reach...the opposite is in fact true. People are easier to reach, because they are "out there", they are connected. The challenge these days is to take those "targeting" lists and narrow them down even more. The challenge is not shooting a thousand arrows into the air and assuming a few will hit the target, but rather to zero in on those high-quality targets and hit them right between the eyes.

How do we do it? Layered, integrated marketing. It may look something like this example provided by the "Connect the Dots" people:

Sample Scenario:

iStockphoto wants to reach out to new customers through a direct mail piece and product giveaway.

Layer 1: iStockphoto uses Emma to send a survey to a target audience. The survey ends with a message to watch their mail for a special promotion. iStockphoto can track opens, click-throughs and forwards through Emma's technology.iStockphoto designs a folded direct mail piece using a FoldRite template and integrated variable data personalization. They mail three different pieces, based on the original survey results.Each brochure uses images relevant to the user's preference, and has one of three GossRSVP text messaging promotional codes. The recipient can text message the code they received to get a free image.

Layer 2:

Layer 3:

Layer 4: The customer goes to the iStockphoto web site to collect their free image.iStockphoto sends out a follow up email via Emma, in the form of a newsletter with useful information related to the user preference.iStockphoto uses another Emma survey to get customer feedback on their recent experience.

Layer 5:

Layer 6:

his sort of strategy takes a good amount of planning, but as you can see, the results returned are of a higher quality then you could get with a "old style" marketing campaign. The greatest value here is that you are talking directly to each customer - a key to getting and maintaining new clients.

People want to know that companies are listening to them. That instead of a company forcing the client to fit into their ad strategy, the client's preferences are actually determining the direction of the ad strategy.

With just a little planning and cooperation, the puzzle of print, email, media, and mobile can come together in a highly effective marketing campaign. It is not just a very "interesting" way of marketing...it is quickly becoming the "only" way of marketing.

What companies do you know of that are currently using a similar strategy? What do you think of this intergrated strategy? Would it work for your business? Why or why not? Have the Connect the Dots people I've mentioned hit all the

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Brave New World - Integrated Layered Marketing - Hit Your Target Right Between the Eyes

By: emke gierlach

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