May 2004

BY NADJI TEHRANI

In 1982 when this publication was launched in a pioneering act as Telemarketing' magazine'we called it 'The magazine of electronic Marketing and Communications.'

In June 1992, I updated the tagline of this magazine to 'The magazine of integrated marketing.' Looking back, we were humbled to note that our vision was 20/20! As I predicted 22 years ago, today, electronic marketing is an extremely important component of our marketing mix.

Also, as I predicted exactly 12 years ago in my Publisher's Outlook (June 1992 issue), Integrated Marketing is 'The Wave of the Future.' Well, that future is NOW.

Today, Integrated Marketing is THE ONLY WAY TO GO. I will try to prove it to you in the following discussions.

Components Of Integrated Marketing
Among many other things, the following are the main ingredients of Integrated Marketing:

' Newspaper

' Radio

' TV

' The Internet

' Direct Mail

' Target Marketing

' Database Marketing

' Public Relations

' Custom Portals

' Telemarketing

' Print Advertising

' Trade Show Marketing

' Relationship Marketing

' E-mail Marketing

' Search Engine Marketing

Definition
The American Heritage Dictionary of The English Language defines INTEGRATION as follows:

'To make into a whole by bringing all parts together.'

When newspapers were invented, they gradually became an important tool for marketers.

When radio was invented, some uninformed marketers said, 'Well, that's the end of newspapers.' That was nearly 60-plus years ago.

When TV was invented, the same people said, 'That's the end of newspapers and radio and so on!'

Today, we know that those misguided comments were nothing more than hogwash. Yes, newspapers, radio, TV and the Web are still around and they are all serving an important function in marketing.

To the extent that people have different taste, some prefer print, some prefer the Web, some prefer the mail, etc. Conventional wisdom dictates that if you want to reach your total market, you have ONE AND ONLY ONE SOLUTION and that is Integrated Marketing, encompassing ALL of the above components.

Under the title of: Top 10 Tips To Become A More Effective Marketer, Reed Business Information writes:

'Understand that one advertising medium can't do it all. An integrated approach of print and online initiatives will allow you to better accomplish your goals and objectives.'

'To reach their goals, marketers need to piece together their own custom Integrated Marketing Solution.'

IBM AGREES!
Ed Abram, vice president, Integrated Marketing Communications, IBM Global Sales and Distribution writes:

'Our research proves that effective marketing campaigns require end-to-end, multi-touch campaigns. You can't drive business with a single touch.'

Search Engine Emerging As A Valid Component Of Integrated Marketing

Richard Hagerty, CEO of IMPAQT, writes:

'The advance and acceptance of search as an interactive marketing option has prompted a number of companies to develop tools and metrics to measure and analyze search performance. These tools and processes, called Search Analytics, are based upon marketing parameters such as reach, frequency and impressions, and have been utilized for years in the direct marketing industry. Marketers are using these factors to improve their campaigns by changing their keyword selections for natural or paid placement, adjusting content and testing landing pages and ad copy to monitor ROI indicators against search term visitor information.'

American Business Media Association Offers Valuable Advice
On B-To-B CONVERGENCE:

'WHEN ONE PLUS ONE EQUALS FAR MORE THAN TWO

The business universe gets more competitive and more demanding every minute. Both the pace of business as well as the number of participants are continuously increasing. What does that mean for marketers? It means that they are battling for attention against an ever-shrinking time frame in an ever-more crowded arena.

Business-to-business advertising eliminates many of the obstacles. In a high-attention venue, with an involved and deeply interested audience, advertisers have the time, the attention, and most of all, the interest of audience members.

That's why it makes good business sense to extend the advertising impact by taking advantage of the multiplicity of media platforms b-to-b vehicles offer. A combination of print advertising, Web site presence, trade show appearances and conference sponsorships means an advertiser's impact on the audience is magnified geometrically.'

The Bottom Line
Hopefully by now, it is abundantly clear that to succeed in today's ultra-competitive business world, marketers must develop a cutting-edge marketing strategy by effectively using every component of Integrated Marketing.

And'let us all remember that marketing is NOT a part-time job, there is NO shortcut in marketing and if you don't market, you don't exist!! Oh yes, always remember effective positioning and differentiation.

As always, I welcome your valued comments. Please e-mail your comments to [email protected].

Best wishes.

Sincerely yours,

Nadji Tehrani
Executive Group Publisher
Editor-in-Chief

For information and subscriptions, visit www.TMCnet.com or
call 203-852-6800.

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